Logical Requiem
by TedizStalker
Summary: Sho Minamimoto, starting his life anew as a math teacher, discovers Pi-Face's Cap beyond the Shibuya River. Only then does he become an unwilling trouble magnet, plagued with forgotten memories, and it all starts when Neku enters his class...
1. First Day of Work

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Sho, Neku.

First day of work. First day of work.  
_First Day Of Work!_  
That was the only clear thought that ran in the new teacher's head. Last summer he had aced his University course. The Japanese culture didn't celebrate Christmas, but that's what he did. Then came the New Year. He felt happy to clean his new apartment, which was in Pork City. Before summer could come around, Sho had been searching for work. He got in, but the maths he was to teach to his new class was way out of his comfort zone. So much for 'Sine, Cosine and Tangent'.  
A month before he found his place in Shibuya, or not so far from Pork City, Sho had ventured into the sewers and found a peculiar cap. He had kept it in his suitcase ever since, seeing that he liked the dirty cap, and it somehow reminded him of another time.  
_Another time, in the Underground..._  
Now where did that come from? He could not remember.  
Sho decided not to mingle with the staff, yet. It was the principal's office to get his timetable, and then off to his first assigned room. The bell went, and Sho waited at his desk. He decided to skip assembly, have his stuff ready to go and teach. As he read through the role, his eyes stopped at one name; Neku Sakuraba. Now where did he hear that name before? Right on time, the noisy students have entered their first room for the day, and among the crowd was a familiar boy with blue earphones. As not to be rude, the boy removed them as he took his seat.

A brief scan of the classroom was enough for Neku. _Another year... Same kids... Same scenery..._ These were the thoughts going through Neku's head, as he looked out the window, his head resting on his hand, fidgeting with a pacer on his desk. Not even 10 minutes into the lesson and he had subconsciously began to space out, ignoring everything around him.

Sho was quick to act on his part in his career, already ordering students to get out their books and find the right page. He kept writing on the whiteboard, pacing back and forth in his own boredom, describing his less desired half of maths, 'the advance stuff', he would label it. But he made it as clear and as easy as he could. And he was happy to see most students were keen on following his instructions. They understood him clear as day.  
But he was also quick to notice the familiar student not paying a damn nanosecond of his time. Sho _hated_ being ignored. It boiled him up inside.  
"Hey you!" he scowled, snapping his fingers to get the student's attention. No response. Sighing, he walked over to Neku's desk, and got to his eye level, his own piercing golden eyes leering at the nonchalant boy.  
"You're so zetta zoned out." he smirked, getting a slight response, "Not one student really wants to get a zero in an exam, unless you really don't give a bloody digit about it. But that, too, is understandable."

Snapping out of it quick, he gave the teacher a weird look. "Yeah?" he said with a tone of aggressiveness. He couldn't care less about class at the moment. He snapped at the teacher without thinking, half out of pure curiosity, half annoyed. "Who the hell are you?" The classroom goes awkwardly silent; the other kids all looking at Neku. Neku stops and looks away, as if he was hiding. _D-did I say something...? Ah, who cares... This jerk isn't worth my time._

Ignored while working was one thing; a rude retaliation was another. And this was not the attention, or the response he wanted.  
Sho narrowed his eyes, "So, if you're going to be rude, what are you doing here, in my class..." he paused, before slipping in an unfamiliar remark, "Radian?" He stood up straight, and waited for a reply. He also did a quick study before filling the silent gap, completely unaware of the other students. "You seem... troubled. Hard work, hard school, and a rough background that you will not share? I'm not even surprised if that's the case. But I have met guys like you, and I won't tolerate any garbage you throw my way. Heh... one could say I can turn garbage into a fine sculpture worthy enough for Top Arts." he smirked an unfamiliar smirk that made himself, and surely the student he was confronting, really uncomfortable.  
"Anyway, if you paid attention earlier, I said my name was Sho. Sho Minamimoto." the Maths teacher took a step back, looking at the other students whom have not broken free from their staring trance. "I didn't say stop!" he barked. That brought them back into their working habits.

Neku slumps back into his chair, avoiding eye contact. He seems to have been caught off guard. "W-whatever..."  
_...This guy has some nerve..._  
He picked up the pacer and started to half take down notes, however his attention shortly broke and he started to scribble things until the end of the lesson. At the first sound of the bell, Neku shot up and grabbed his things in one fell swoop, putting his headphones back on and hurried out before Sho could grab his attention.

Sho quietly watched Neku leave in such a great haste. _Not so zetta slow after all? But you and me... like it or not... we're on the same page and that's it._ Unspoken words, to an invisible audience who won't even listen.  
Throughout the day, the new teacher had been on edge. He'd snap at the other teachers, he liked being alone, and simply _refused_ to mingle with the staff unless it was an important meeting. But come lunch break, he began to rummage through leftovers commonly found in woodworks and mechanic classes, and constructed a small metal pig, almost life sized. It looked awfully familiar, but could not recall it. At all. But he liked his monster of an artwork, unaware he was watched by the same rude student who dared to show his face in _his_ maths class.  
"Yeah... my maths class, my art... that's all I need to thrive in this stuffy environment." he muttered to himself. He didn't care about what other students said; priority one, himself. He didn't see Neku as he walked passed, keen on leaving the grounds for the day.

Crossing his arms and standing amongst a crowd of older grades, Neku cynically watches Sho pass by. "…He won't last here." he murmured to himself. Having nothing else better to do, he waits until Sho has left before casually walking against the crowd, in the direction Sho came from. Oblivious to the weird looks from some of the younger grades going home, he stops by the metalwork room, a curious object catching his attention. He leans into the small window on the door to try and get a better look. Unable to catch a glimpse, he jiggles the door handle, which to his surprise is still unlocked. He looks around to make sure no-one is around and enters once the coast is clear. He wanders over to the object and scratches his head. _This... Is this a pig?_ He crosses his arms and leans on the desk behind him.  
After taking a while staring at the strange object, he stands up. "Let's see what he does without his weird-ass pig here." he murmurs again before picking it up and _just_ managing to fit it into his shoulder bag.  
Closing the door behind him, he makes his way into the breaking dusk to the subway, which he takes day in and day out to get to school.

The new teacher knew very well that he did not leave a good impression on his first day. He slowly made his way back to Pork City, dropping his gear off, getting changed into something more comfortable and chilled out on the lounge sofa. Sure, he loved maths on both areas, but would rather teach what he would prefer. If he did kick in a bit of good behaviour over the next few years, who knows? Sho could also start teaching visual art, accounting and metalwork, but by the time that happens, Neku would be long gone. Wait… why did he care about Neku? All he was is a familiar face, and a rude student.  
He sighed, pulled out his suitcase again and got the old cap he found in the sewers. _What am I doing wrong?_ he thought sadly to himself, _Why do I feel as though I've known it for so long? How could this be important to me?_ he sighed, placed the cap back into the case, grabbed a bit of yen and went to the Ramen shop not far from Pork City.  
But what took him by surprise was that one of the shop's new employees was none other than the unpredictable Neku.


	2. Ramen Don

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Sho, Yodai.

_A job's a job, sure, but why'd I get stuck in a freaking Ramen joint?  
_He'd been working there for a few months now, and Neku still hasn't accepted the job. Working behind a counter, serving drunken old men some funky looking noodles wasn't his kind of scene. But, a job's a job._  
_Working behind the counter, he didn't notice Sho as he took a seat amongst some others. He looked twice and finally figured out who it was. Neku hurried to turn away and look busy, hoping he went undetected. _  
Great..._

Oh, he noticed it alright.  
Sho pondered for a while; why didn't he see Neku the last few times he visited? The young teacher grabbed a waiter's attention and ordered his usual, with a moreover polite tone, and minus the usual maths talk. He would only speak maths when he felt like it or when it was necessary.  
Now the shop, Ramen Don, was once owned by Ken Doi (the legendary chef, as Sho would put it). It is still the same classical shop as it once had, with keen employees wanting to keep the good, classical taste alive. It even outlasted the Shadow Ramen shop, which went bankrupt more than several centuries ago. Sho loved it; it had the same familiar air from another time. Apart from the word 'zetta', his other favourite word as of late had been 'familiar', and it has been since he picked up the cap.  
Nanosecond after nanosecond flew by. It went by that fast, he didn't pay attention when he ate, paid, and sat back down waiting once more. But for what? He felt as though he bombed out this entire time. He was quick to remember as he saw Neku, drained from spending his energy at his workplace, quietly dragging his feet as he passed. Without thinking, and in a warm, quiet tone, Sho asked, "Do you need a lift home?"

Neku kept himself busy with the dishes from the past customers, to avoid any eye contact. "…No, I'll take the 10:40 like usual." he muttered.  
The other customers had already left, and Neku was still finishing up with cleaning, under the strict eye of Mr. Higashizawa, who had been finishing the wages for the day. Neku looks up and to his surprise, finds Sho still at the counter. He approaches him from behind the counter; "It's late. We're closing now." he says in a cold tone.  
"NEKU-" Yodai suddenly bellowed from his quiet corner. One stern look from Yodai was enough to get the message across. Neku scratched his neck, "...Sorry." he said softly to Sho.

Even Yodai's voice got the young teacher to flinch in his chair. Up until the day he found the cap, Sho and Yodai were good friends. Now, simply looking at the chef, it enraged, and intimidated him at the same time. Black hate flowed through his thoughts. He leered dangerously towards Yodai, who was once a good friend. Anyone looking at the teacher head on would be left with the impression of a lion's glare. Sho wanted to shout. To make a classical remark. Including the words 'Inverse Wise-Ass'. But he held his breath. Ashamed that he even thought about that. A long forgotten fire has been relit.  
He held back, because he couldn't do something that violent in front of Neku. So instead, he stood from his chair, a smirk on his face, the glare still evident on Yodai. "You dirty little sneak." he said, with dripping irony. No way will he ditch his once-was-a-friend's trust, not yet. "But Phones here is right; it's closing. And he has school tomorrow." Feeling the tight pressure ease off his chest, he turned back to Neku. "Are you sure you don't want a lift? You look spent." No 'zetta', no 'radian', no maths remarks. Nothing.  
Nothing. Just like... _Erasure?_

Neku quirked a brow at Sho's abrupt remark. _What's his problem... Do they know each other or something?_ He shrugs it off and grabs his backpack and replacing his work hat with his headphones. He looks over to Yodai, thinking no more of the strange connection between Sho and him. "See you tomorrow Mr. Higashizawa..."  
Working here has been hell... But Neku had to owe it to Yodai. He needed the extra cash just to get from A to B, because its certain he wouldn't get any help from home.  
Neku walked out from behind the counter and stops momentarily next to Sho. A small sense of respect for the teacher had been gained. "I'll miss the subway if I don't leave now." He continues, but stops and turns back without looking directly at Sho. "Stranger danger and all, y'know?"  
_Erasure...?_  
For some reason, this word stood out in Neku's mind as he fell asleep in his bed.  
_...This year sucks already._

Sho watched Neku leave quietly, but it didn't go unnoticed that the student's bag looked out of shape. He knew very well that Neku would have taken the pig. Oh well. First Outer Inner Last, no use crying over stolen garbage.  
He went back to Pork City and didn't really rest well for the night. His mind kept dancing on the word 'Erasure'.  
_Erasure, Erasure, Erasure…_  
_**Composer!**_  
The alarm went off and he sat up straight in bed with a start. Great. Another day at school, and that meant mingling with the staff again. And much to his dismay, he had to attend his first staff meeting. Today was the day that staff and students had to get their school photos. Sho had already paid and handed his form in prior to his first day at work. Along the way to the meeting, he stopped by the woodworks again and pinched a wooden cube that some student didn't use up too wisely, and planned to throw it out. Waste of garbage, more for him. To make his resentment with his peers more clearly, he also stole a chisel.  
During the meeting, he zoned out, chipping away at the wooden block.


	3. Things of Wood

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Joshua, Sho.

_Day 2. Just as bad as day 1..._ Neku thought. He sat down, staring out the window in Geography, like usual.  
_...Why am I even here?_  
The lesson had eventually concluded. Neku had risen, grabbed his things and proceeded to walk to the next class when suddenly chills went down his spine. Joshua had joined him in the hall. Neku's stomach turned, and he picked up the pace to try to get ahead of him, but Joshua kept up. Josh looked over with a sly grin, "Off to class now, Neku?" he finished with a creepy laugh.  
"..." Neku wasn't going to dignify such a stupid question with an answer.  
"Oh? So you're headed to block 8-A?" Joshua inquired.  
"8-B." Neku sharply replied and made a turn into his classroom, leaving Josh behind.  
Joshua smirked. "Looks like we're neighbours now, hee hee." Neku rolled his eyes and took his seat. He looked up and to his surprise, found Sho there.  
_Wait... I have maths now?? Man, I need to pay attention to my time table a little more..._

Sho had hardly any enthusiasm as he had the first day. The other teachers bore him more than Japanese (as first language). At least he can deal one session today, and get back to his carving in full focus later on. He sighed, put the half-started carving down out of view, stood up and greeted the students. He acknowledge Neku's presence, but chose not to put him under pressure, considering that he knew one out of... a possible three of the student's secrets.  
Mark the roll. Take text book out. Do these questions. Step-by-step. Work example. Etc, etc, etc... and once the students settled down into routine, Sho got back to work on his carving. He only had to abandon his small project when a student asked for help. He knew the angles, use degree, not radian, to sort triangles. He constantly kept that in mind as he chipped off another strip of wood. He also had a bin nearby, so as not to make an obvious mess.  
_Zetta slow, zetta slow, so zetta slow... pathetic radian... stupid zero... Taboo... Noise........_  
_Erasure?_ There was that word again!

Neku had been watching Sho a little. He was a strange teacher, that's for sure. But he still couldn't decide whether or not that was a good, or a bad thing.  
_What's he doing anyway?_  
Neku just sat there, watching out of curiosity from behind his desk.

Sho kept chipping away at the wooden block, entranced by the sound of a small scratch. He felt curious eyes on him. He perked up, and caught Neku just pretending to write away on the paper, but he also caught a student a few seats behind him just about to throw a paper ball at him.  
_Heh... I'm going to test his trust. I won't act unless he wants me to._ Having thought that, he put his head down again and began chiselling at the block, which was gradually taking form.

A paper ball flew and hit the back of Neku's head. Startling his trail of thought, he looked back at the kid responsible, who was laughing with the two other kids surrounding him. Neku gave them a cold stare, before turning back around.  
Another ball of paper hit the side of his head, accompanied by muffled laughter. Neku just sit there, with a sour look on his face. "..."

_Scratch, scratch, scratch...  
_Finally, about one quarter through his mini project, Sho decided to put the deformed wooden cube away. He looked up, and saw Neku who again was pretending to work, but one look was all he needed; Neku wanted the kids at the back to stop throwing paper._  
_"You know," he almost hollered at the kids in the back, who was just about to throw their sixth paper ball, "I have a few questions for you ungrateful radians. What year level are you in? Because apparently, and I agree I'm not alone here, you do not fit the equation. Can you tell me what paper is made from? Yes, trees. And you may as well be throwing a whole forest of it around. They're made for pens, not projectiles. Can you even keep count on how many trees are killed for you zetta ungrateful zeros? With an attitude like that, nobody's not gonna want to hire you. Japan doesn't work like that. So Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally, and stop throwing countless paper balls around! You have _zero rights_ to disrupt another student from learning!"_  
_Almost immediately, the kids responsible stopped, and hid their stuff. Sho gave them a lion's glare, and very soon they got their pens out. He would not stop leering until the pens were put to paper for better use._  
_"Better. Let's keep it that way." he growled as he sat back down; completely ignoring Neku the whole time.

Neku just stared at his paper. _At least they stopped..._  
The lesson progressed quietly from then on. Neku had even completed half of one of the algebra questions, before trailing off into some weird drawings. The bell began to ring, and Neku shot up and collected his things, as usual.

So what if it was lunch? Sho would rather do his work back in Pork City than in an anti-mingle free zone. He gathers his work and was just about to leave the grounds without even letting the staff know...  
When yet another familiar voice caught him off guard. It was a chuckle.  
Sho whipped around to find its owner, to meet violet eyes. He instantly froze on the spot, speechless. "Going somewhere?" chuckled Joshua, another student from this school. Why was this student different from the others, or from Neku for that matter? Why was Sho's body trapped in a trance of fear?

Walking around the grounds with his hands to his headphones, captured by the electronic beats of Pendulum, Neku finds a secluded spot behind one of the buildings. He crosses his arms, ditches his bag and leans against the building.  
His ear perks up as he hears Joshua's voice, even with his headphones on. He peers around the building to see if Joshua is coming his way when he finds Sho and Josh in the distance.  
_Hrm, it's not my problem..._  
Neku crosses his arms, about to turn away. He takes a second look, this time pitying Sho. Anyone in his position would have that scared expression. Josh is like that. Hesitantly, Neku decides to walk over. "Josh!" he calls, gaining Joshua's immediate attention.  
Joshua smirks, "Good to see you, Neku."  
Neku looked away, swallowing his pride "Y-yeah, whatever... Don't you have to go get ready for those photos or something?"  
Joshua shrugs and laughs a little more. "No. If anyone, it's you, Neku." Joshua gives Sho one last piercing stare, before turning around to address Neku. "...But I'd be happy to help you with your... _look_." he said, smirking like the ass he is.  
_The hell am I doing? What a freakin' jerk. There's nothing wrong with my... look?_  
Neku cringed and began to walk off "...whatever"  
Joshua looks back. "You better not be going anywhere now, Mr. Minamimoto." he said slyly with a laugh before catching up with Neku.

The moment Joshua was led away, Sho began to relax. Just looking at this odd kid somehow makes him feel uncomfortable. 'Inverse Matrix', or something like that. He watched quietly as Neku led his troubles away, smiling, and giving him a quiet 'thank you'.  
_Oh right! The photos! I need to hang around longer..._  
Fine, so he was a prisoner of exposed society? Sho looked at his suitcase. How about wearing that cap while having his photo taken? No, it was too dirty, and he felt he was missing something. He briskly went back inside, avoiding the other teachers more than the students, and ducked into the bathrooms to tidy himself up. Aside from waiting to have his photo taken, he passed the time exercising his mind with countless maths quizzes, puzzles and chipping the wooden block. With that done for the day, he made a beeline for freedom. Summer was a bad time for running school, however late it is in the season, it was still unbearably hot.  
While he passed Ramen Don, he swore he could see Neku just starting up his shift. A part wanted to help him sort his troubles, and yet he knew it wasn't his business.


	4. Sigil and Memories

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Neku, Yodai, Sho, Joshua.

_Another day, another dollar?_ Yeah, some consolation that is. Neku had just put his work hat on, and was talking with Yodai, who had his arms crossed in his little corner again, as usual.  
Work started out slow. The usual customers started to come by. Neku kept a close eye on the time, watching it pass slowly.  
_...At least Josh is gone._

Sho made sure he wasn't sighted, and moved on up the street to home. He had it, but he, like Neku, had searched and found a job for a reason. Maybe his temper will ease as the cold days start setting in. Both didn't like their jobs... well, Sho loved his, it's the 'Advance Maths' and mingling that he dearly disliked which came with the deal. The money was earned for survival. So what was the point? Money should not be an equation that should fit in any everyday life. Just like saying you can't use the radian rule to solve a degree's job.  
Finally, Sho crashed onto his sofa, and flicked on the TV. He kept sifting through channels until he stopped at the news. His heart sank, hearing about a plane crash, and that two thirds of the passengers had perished on impact. Among them were two individuals going under the name Sakuraba.  
_If Neku heard this...?_  
He didn't want to know, but surely Neku will find out eventually.  
Anxiety filled him. He got up and paced back and forth. With the last digit snapped, he bolted out of Pork City. Good, Neku was still there, but did he know?

Neku stretched and took off his hat, with a small smile. "Thanks Mr. Yodai." he said softly before collecting his things and walking out routinely. With all this time remaining just waiting for his subway to arrive, he had no plans on how to spend it. Sure enough, he ran into Sho again. "M-Mr. Minamimoto?" he said, surprised. "Getting some Ramen?"

Sho stopped, frozen in a different fear, one that was way different to when he was stopped by Joshua. And this time he could shake it off. "No, I'm not," he quietly replied, "And if you're starting to think I'm stalking you..."  
_Wait... he doesn't know?_ the anxiety began tightening again.  
"Listen... I live not so far from here. See that building? That one that's just up the street? That's Pork City. I live on the third floor. But that's different news." Sho backed off for a while. Neku was still oblivious to the news recently broadcasted. "Say, I have extra yen that I feel like spending. How about exploring Shibuya for a bit?"  
No radian, no zetta. _Am I missing something?_

Neku stood back and crossed his arms. _What's with this guy...?_  
Neku felt no immediate threat with Sho, and he did have the time to spare. "…I guess so." he shrugged.  
He kept his hands in his pockets and didn't make eye contact, keeping his wits about him at the same time. Such sudden acts of kindness from a teacher. And a math teacher at that. Is he just lonely? Or does he just pity Neku? Either way, Neku had nothing better to do.

"Where should we look around first?" Sho asked, just to kick things off and keeping his grieving at bay. Not getting a reply, he decided to head for 104, and seeing it wasn't far off from here. "Oh yeah... by the way, as long as you're not in the school grounds, you don't have to call me Mr. Minamimoto. It makes me feel zetta old. So, got anything planned for the free time?"

"Hrm, not really... " Neku said as he looked around the familiar place. The crossroads had a certain powerful presence to them. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

Sho paused, taking a few seconds to think. "Ditto... Apart from that small factor that says I'm hungry..."  
_Need to keep busy..._  
He decided to visit Udagawa, but whether Neku would follow or not was beyond his control. By visiting the place gave him a feeling of familiar again. But it was a feeling of violence, of ambition. And he felt reassured that Joshua wasn't here.  
Sho looked back. "We don't have to go if you want."

Neku stood still for a while. _Udagawa... Haven't been there for a while._ The same foreboding presence from his past had returned. Neku shrugged it off. Shibuya was a powerful place in general.  
"...Whatever." He walked on and looked around. "Is there anywhere to eat here anyway...?"

Sho scanned the area. "I don't see anything to eat around here. How about the Mexican Hotdog in Spain Hill? My shout, because I'm sweet like that. And..."  
He froze on the spot. _Gunshots? Sigil? Ok, what is going on?_ he thought, as he looked at the spot right where the Taboo Sigil was. "They say time heals all wounds... but this is different. I can still feel its presence... its zetta creepy. The Sigil is still there... it's just not visible." Sho knelt down and placed a hand on the cold, hard ground. After mumbling a few maths calculations, he gave a sad hum and stood up again.  
"Just a silly Inverse Matrix; garbage. The kind of garbage that even I can't handle."

Neku shrugs "Uh... Ok, whatever..."_...This guy is weird. What's he up to anyway?_  
Sho went on ahead and Neku followed him, taking his time to look at the surroundings when an all too familiar voice appeared from behind a building.  
"Neku? This is a surprise," Joshua said calmly. Fortunately, he had not seen Sho as he walked on ahead. Neku turned around, a chill went up his spine. He froze in his place, an overcoming sense of déjà vu and fear rising.  
"Oh? I was just in the neighbourhood..." Josh explained.  
_At 10 at night?? I knew he was a creep, but this is going too far! And this feeling... I... need to get out of here!_ Neku thought, alarmed. He gathered whatever words he could. "Yeah... I have to go now." he blurted out and hurried off before Joshua could make any objections.

Oblivious to the noise behind him, Sho kept going until he was faced with the same wall that had the CAT Mural on it. Worn down through time, it was barely visible, and numerous graffiti were overlapping it.  
_Where is your beauty? Lost in time... that's where. The only form of numbers that even pi can't triumph over._  
Sho kept staring at it, until his most peaceful moment had been ruined when Neku caught up to him. He couldn't understand why the student was in a rush, until he read the fear from the past; where Neku was looking at the wall, where Joshua came charging to get his proxy, where he tried to assassinate Joshua in that moment of vulnerability... suddenly, his right shoulder got caught up in a piercing pain, as if a bullet had been shot there. He knelt down, as the horrific memories came up like an unwanted yoctogram.  
But there wasn't a bullet hole.  
There wasn't a shootout.  
Just memories and voices.  
He could not remember the visions that came and went, as he came around seconds later.


	5. Zetta Whatever

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Neku, Sho, Joshua.

Panting a little, Neku looks down surprised. "Mr. M, you OK?"  
He stops to take a look around, the same foreboding atmosphere surrounding him again. He keeps silent for a moment.  
"...C'mon, let's get out of here."

After taking a few moments to recover, Sho looked up at Neku. There was something about Joshua that disturbed him, disturbed them both, like a bully who would torment another mentally. "That zero... Joshua... he's trouble..." he said almost breathlessly. Why did the events played in his head involuntary? After getting Neku's message, Sho nodded. "Let's."  
He stood up, still feeling a bit dizzy. "So, fancy anything to eat at all?"

Neku shrugged "...I don't really have a lot of time left..."  
The run in with Joshua at school was enough to turn Neku off of his food. Neku didn't usually eat much anyway, and after this encounter, eating was the last thing on his mind.  
"...Sorry, but I better go or I'll miss the subway."

Still recovering, Sho had a look at his watch. 10:10PM? It's a wonder that the kid was still alive! Sure, the subway wasn't far from Ramen Don, compare to their current location, they were still in Udagawa. Many thugs lurk at night, or Sho assumed, and there was no way he'll let Neku off on his own while it was this late.  
"Like it or not, I'm coming until we get to the subway. Besides, I have something to tell you and you won't like it. But it will serve as a gap filler as to why you were let off early." he said, almost quietly as he trailed off on that sentence, "You deserve to know... unless you already do know."  
Once more, the anxiety began to tighten in his chest.

"..."  
He didn't like the idea of being _escorted_ to the subway. Neku was always one to do things alone, and he knew how to deal with things. However, what Sho said bothered Neku. "...Whatever." he shrugged and began to walk off.

The lack of enthusiasm wasn't as bad as being ignored, but the knowledge of loss was important. "'Whatever'? Is that all you have to say? Geez... you won't be saying 'whatever' when I'm done. D stands for 'Dirt'. Don't use that kind of attitude around me again. Ever."  
Before he could get a grip on reality, he noticed that the student began walking off on him without waiting. "So what? I'm trying to pull my guts together to tell you this and you're still zetta careless?" Sho almost hollered as he began to catch up to Neku, "Don't you know how much it hurts to tell? If your life at home is rough, then it's going to get rougher! Unbearable even!" his lack of control over his temperament wasn't helping, he never lost his cool so fast before, "I..."  
Sho clamped up when he noticed Neku looked like he still wasn't going to listen.

Such a sudden interest in Neku's life had caused suspicion. He wasn't in the mood for such a confrontation either. But curiosity and the sincere tone in Sho's voice caused Neku to stop. He hardly turned around, waiting for Sho to get whatever it was off his mind.

The ache was unbearable; he felt his lungs would collapse on him if he didn't speak soon enough. And certainly, if given the chance, Joshua would use this news to his advantage. But that was thinking outside the given question; tell and bear the response, or let him find out himself?  
"Hate me if you must... but I don't even give a factor anymore... if you've seen or heard the news..." Sho lowered his gaze to the ground, "A plane crashed, no specific location... it was on the news. I did say I've met guys like you, who won't say anything that meant exposing some privacy, but I've been there... I know what that's like. Two thirds of the passengers had perished when the plane crashed... I believe... your parents were among the victims..." Sho gave a sigh; he felt ashamed, because he could hardly remember his present time history. Opening up, caring for them...  
Exposing yourself to the _hurt_.  
That's why he didn't enjoy the presence of his peers. However hard he tried starting over in his new life, the old resurface. And the cap he had under his ownership wasn't helping. He didn't know what to say. Before long, he himself, felt zetta zoned out...

Neku just stood there, stunned. He looked like he had been hit with something. _Wh-what..?! No, this guy... Can't be for real!  
_A mess of emotions swell up, and instinct instantly denies the grim information, yet a small part of him fears that it is true. "Wh-what are you playing at?" he yelled angrily at Sho. "Who the _hell_ do you think you are?!" he shouted again. He runs up to Sho, grabbing him by the shirt, readying his other arm for a clean punch. With the last shred of moral consciousness in him, Neku pulls away and runs off into the darkness. His head was filled with grief and denial, so he didn't care where he ran. _  
It's not true..! It can't be true!_

The yank from Neku got Sho to snap back into consciousness. He braced for the punch that didn't come. For once, Sho was the one who's zetta slow, not Neku, as he tried desperately to answer. But all that came out was a quiet "Sorry..." as he watched the other take off into the night.  
Like the student, Sho didn't care where he went. He wasn't bothering to look for Neku, but to make his way back to Pork City. How will he deal with life now? He wanted to commit suicide, but that would be a show of cowardliness. To commit suicide was to take the easy, but painful way out of life.  
And life was never meant to be easy. That had been a factor he grew to accept.  
_The world is made up of numbers, it doesn't mean the world revolves around them, too! If you can't handle the facts, then you can't handle life. Sorry, but that's how a masterpiece crumbles._  
Very soon, he found himself standing in the West Exit Bus Terminal, gazing down at the Station Underpass, which led him to the cap deep within.

"Sho Minamimoto," Joshua said with a sly smirk as he confronted Sho on his way to Pork City. He shrugs after no response "Don't worry, I was just coming to say 'Hi' is all."


	6. A Great Void

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Neku, Sho.

Time went by. That empty spot where Neku sat had remained empty, causing to be a painful reminder to the math teacher. For the first in a long time, Neku had been hanging around at home more often, not because he chose to, but because he didn't really care where he was anymore. He lost interest in most things, and ate less often than he did. His Aunt, who did feel the grief of loss, provided no emotional support. But then again, Neku wouldn't expect her to. Never has, never will. On the occasion he would venture out for no particular purpose and with no particular destination. The street art of Shibuya provided the little comfort which Neku sought.

--

Where there was enthusiasm for life, a mind full of maths, an admiration for art, now there was nothing more, than a grave void. Sho did everything to mask that emptiness; he even managed to distract himself while teaching the class. That alone had been successful, until his gaze was set on the empty seat that Neku once sat down in.  
_Whenever I dream of a new universe, I can only picture a world without numbers..._  
Nanosecond after second after minute after hour after day after week after month... well, he could not call it after a year, it hasn't been a year since he started teaching.  
_And my teeth __**crunch**__ down on the juicy fruit known as a nashi, a kind of apple and a pair combined. I see it as an act of rebellion..._  
For the next few months, until it reached November, Sho kept on his daily habits. And he did something that he never dreamed of; he mingled with the staff. He learnt so much more since then.  
_If you don't clash, you won't change._  
However, as long as Neku remained absent, the math teacher knew that the empty void will never again be fulfilled. Top that off with the scary student, Joshua, who never passed up a moment of stalking, but the more he was around, the more relaxed Sho grew towards him.  
_It will never be the same... ah well... it took zetta tough guts to come clean._

As time went by, Neku had become to accept his solitude in the world. He had quit his job at Ramen Don's after not showing up for such a long time. He didn't care anymore. It's not like he had anywhere to go, anything to do or anything to see. Life was slow, and seemingly pointless. More than ever, he would distant himself from those who tried to get close to him.  
Although, he often thought about school, and what Sho might be going through. He was, after all, right about the situation. And he did have the decency to tell Neku. He decided to pay a visit to his apartment at Pork City on a Saturday. Sho, after all, was the only other person who cared.

The Progfox wooden sculpture; a thing of beauty. Every curve, angle, nook, cranny, all smooth and perfect. And, yet it served as another symbol of another familiar time. Not a single splinter, not an odd angled bump. Perfect. Even the tail had the 3D appearance of the tattoo shape. It was all... perfect, like the perfect solution to an equation.  
The progress since the day Sho started his project had gone fast, eventually slamming the breaks when Neku stopped attending school. He went slowly from there, trying to patch up his mistakes. It was also the perfect distraction from his disturbing train of thoughts. At school, Sho did eventually overcome his fear when talking to Joshua, but can't help feeling he was responsible of a cause in the past. But what, exactly, was it?  
As strange as it sounds for a maths teacher, Sho began collecting things, so that he could get the bandanna in Wild Boar, 104, the jeans in Tiger Punks, Molco, and the coat in KuraKura, Shibukyu Stationside. The peculiar items somehow matched the cap he found in the sewers, and he had an urge to collect them. Who knows? They could come in handy.  
It was a cool autumn Saturday morning. Sho sat at his table, wearing the now clean cap and almost chewing the end of a pen, which was new. He had taken the recent SAC (School Assessed Coursework) maths sheets home to correct. Golden eyes scanned the paper carefully, quickly picking up mistakes. He sighed irritably as he had to show them what went wrong. _At least they tried..._  
His heart sank, knowing that one student didn't show up to participate. There and then, a knocking sound went off by his apartment door.  
_Who the factor would visit me at this time of day?_


	7. SAC's and Progfoxes

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Neku, Sho.

Neku just stood there. His eyes to the ground, and his arms firm by his side. When Sho answered, he didn't say as much as a 'hey'. The words had escaped him. An apology was on his mind, but he couldn't find the words.  
"..."

_Stupid random radian visitors! Trying to do my job on a weekend—a __**weekend!**__—and they didn't have the respect too-?  
_Sho's thoughts grind to a halt as he opened the door. It was the last person he'd expect to show his face anytime soon. All wild emotions quickly flooded his head, filling that empty hole, but... what if it was all a ruse?_  
_"N-Neku...? What are you-?" he didn't know how to finish, and clamped up before making a fool of himself. He widened the door slightly and stood aside. "You're welcome to come in, please."_  
_First time in years, Sho felt his soul was being torn into two.

Neku walked in and sat down on one of the chairs, looking away from Sho. "H-hey, Mr. ..." he said with a bit of a shaky voice. He looked up without saying a word more.

_This is too much...  
_Sho closed the door quietly, and almost soundlessly went over to the table where he was correcting the SACs. He decided to put them away, seeing that it was a teacher's business, not a student's. That is, if he could call Neku a student right now. With that out of the way, he took off his 'thinking _pi_ cap' and set it on the table, before making his way back to Neku, taking a seat not too far from him, but also well out of grasping distance. The longer he looked at the teen, the more his heart ached; how often did he eat or get any sunshine?_  
_"I... I should have kept my mouth shut... but... y'know as well as I do. You deserved to know. I can't believe I was that insensitive. And... I'm sorry..." It was a quiet, apologetic tone full of hurt. He kept his head down, afraid to gaze into the teen's eyes.

"I would have found out eventually," Neku blurted out, almost cutting Sho off from finishing his sentence. An awkward silence filled the room. The old cap of Sho's caught his attention, sparking strange and surreal memories.  
_Pi... Pi-Face?_  
Neku sighed a little, and started to scan the room. He looked up at Sho. "Better from you then Joshua, or the TV or something..."

The longer this was drawn out, the more secure he felt. And Neku's last sentence chipped off the small strand of doubt left in his head.  
"Thanks... that means a lot." Sho said, with a bittersweet tone to it that time.  
_Been there... done that... you lazy degree.  
_ To stop the silence from lingering, he got up and fetched the wooden sculpture. "Say, have you been plagued by memories that's your own, and sometimes that are not?" he said, using the same attitude as he would in class, without an angry or a sarcastic edge to it, "Ever since I found that cap, that's exactly what I got. Here," he paused, holding the wooden sculpture, "I was saving this for the New Year, but... I don't have anyone who knows me well, not even my family for that matter."

He didn't respond. Neku sat there, a bit dumbfounded. However, the change of topic helped him to take his mind off of bleak matters, even for a moment. He looked at Sho, as if to ask if it were OK to take the fox, and with a look of consent, Neku took the fox and examined it. Such detailed craftsmanship for such a peculiar object intrigued Neku. It also caused more surreal images, almost like déjà vu.  
_I've seen this before. I'm sure of it. But where...?_  
An obscure memory from a time long passed was waiting to surface, Neku knew it. But when and where? The pieces didn't add up. Consequently, Neku sat there staring at the sculpture for some time, pondering this.

Sho stood up, pleased to see Neku examining the sculpture, and went back to his desk to finish the SAC results. "If you need anything, don't zetta wait to ask." He said, before he sat down, put his Pi-Cap on and began correcting again.  
"Oh yeah. You can keep that if you want. So, can I expect you to return to school anytime, or even get your life back on track?"

Neku snapped out of his trail of thought. "O-oh, thanks." He put the sculpture down for the time being and crossed his arms. "Guess I'll just find another job again."

"Jobs nowadays are hard to snag unless you complete the whole school course, which zetta sucks." Sho said mainly to himself without thinking, "I nailed the Uni course, and well equipped to face those radians down. I wish I could teach General Maths instead. The advance stuff I digress, it's boring with a capital B. As for geometry? SOH CAH TOA, now you're talking my language." he smirked, which broke into a chuckle.  
"I like having you around. Maths class isn't the same without you, Neku. Sure, those lousy zeros don't give a digit whether you show up or not. I... just felt bad for..." he deliberately trailed off, he already knew that it was forgiven.

"Uh, I guess so..." Neku tapped his finger a little and shrugged. "If I can find and hold down a job now, then there's no point me going back..." he paused, "...Seems useless to me."

Sho perked up. _Education is not useless. I can't believe you'd say that. Knowledge serves you well. Education may be a small chapter to life, but it's there for life._ Unspoken words.  
What came out instead was: "Ok. Even if the time we had in school was just measly two days, it may as well have been the high point of my life. I don't think I'll find something as thrilling as that again. Do you know how to apply for a job? Send in a resume, and all? Maybe I can help? Oh, ok ok, here I go, zetta running my mouth again. Can't really help it, but you remind me of someone who kept getting in the way of a goal. Well, it's not my goal, but it feels like it is.  
"I know something has happened in Shibuya before, and I'm not going to stand around and let that yoctogram send me running in circles. That creep Joshua isn't helping the situation. To have a passion, with maths and art, isn't such a coincidence. And I want to know why my focus has been out of synch since I found Pi-Face's Cap—!"  
_Pi-Face's Cap! So that's what the cap is called? Arrgh! I can't stand these feral thoughts!_  
The maths teacher looked up from the SAC sheets. "Neku? Do you know what I'm thinking? Can you see where I'm going with this?"

Neku sat there, as if he was zoning out a little. _I... hadn't really thought about all that a lot..._  
Without thinking thoroughly, he almost instinctively said, "...I'll manage."  
He stopped briefly to take in what he had just said, taking Sho's advice into consideration. He was conflicted to make a decision. He saw no use for school. No motivation to find a decent job. What was the point? Education was expensive these days too. But on the other hand, having a job meant security.

The SAC sheets began to bother the maths teacher, and decided now was the time for a break. He put them away in a drawer, took off the cap and left it on the table he was working the sheets on, before making his way to the sofa. If this had been the old Sho, he would never keep it tidy. This was an apartment he enjoyed calling home, and all homes need to be tidy. Who knows what kind of person would visit him without notice. Apart from Neku, anyone could visit him at any time, even complete strangers, or folks he knew but long forgot over time.  
Sho certainly couldn't count on his parents to visit, or any of the girls he met at University. And now that he was used to mingling, he was slowly growing lonely over time. The teacher looked at the clock in the kitchen, before turning to Neku. "How long do you plan to stay? Don't you have anything else to do?"

"Oh, uh... I think I might just head back home..." Neku said as he got up from his seat. Like always, he had no plans. There wasn't ever anything that worthwhile doing anyway. But, he has probably hanged around for a moment too long.  
"Thanks, Pi-Face." he said with a small tone of satire and gratitude as he picked up the Progfox sculpture and made his way for the door.  
_Weird..._

"That's understandable..." Sho replied with an air of sadness, "Any chance you will visit again?"  
Though the empty void had at last been filled, he still couldn't watch the teen leave in the condition he was already in. _He's been through a lot. I wish I could help..._  
However, he could not help but look up at Neku at the mention of an odd nickname. "Pi-Face? That's getting a bit old, don't you think?"

Neku shrugged. "Pi-Face never gets old. And you did say not to call you 'Mr. Minamimoto.'"  
He turned around before closing the door. "If it is ok, I guess I'll come around again." he said like he didn't care. Inside, Neku was glad. There was somewhere out there that he could go.

Sho smiled as he watched the door close behind the teen. Before his mind wandered back to correcting the SACs, he felt as though he could build something. He pushed that thought aside as he sat down and got the sheets out again.


	8. Bugger off, Composer

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Joshua, Neku.

There was a fortnight of school to go before the holidays. Sho had kept up his teaching habits in class. He felt much better, more energized and almost mentally invincible. He spoke to other teachers as if he's known them for a long time. The dropping temperature made his days feel better, too. Neku's frequent visits over the weekends made him feel secure throughout the duration.  
The math teacher was rushing to his next maths class, for he was late in finding his room key and picked out yet another wooden block to chip for the New Year. Happy, but late. A familiar chuckle caught up with him, that would have sent a shockwave of fear up his spine if it had been a few months ago.  
"Do I need to tell you a thousand times over to get it in your head, radian? Neku's not coming back to school." Sho tried to sound annoyed, but it was ruined by his unusual happy attitude. He ignored it as Joshua caught up to him.

Sho's cheery tone didn't go unnoticed. Joshua laughed a little, "You seem happy lately." After receiving no more than an unconcerned murmur, he decides to talk about Neku instead.  
"Such a shame." Joshua said slyly. "Maybe I should pay him a visit every now-and-then." he schemed.  
"Now, why would Neku want to drop out of school, hmm? Maybe you can enlighten me, Mr. Minamimoto." A smirk formed, and he continued. "It'd save him from having to tell me himself, of course."

_Won't the pest of a Composer leave me alone?  
_Sho stopped when he heard that remark. "Oh you would, would you? Do you even know where he lives? And if I answer, what's in it for me, Compo- I mean Hectopascal?"_  
_

"Hrm? What's in it for you? Well, you'll be helping Neku to get out more often. Oh, and I can secure him a job too..."  
Joshua paused and gave Sho a creepy sort of stare. "I've known Neku for a while now."  
Sho's unconvinced expression caused Joshua to change his tactic. He shrugged and started to walk off casually. "Well, I guess Neku can always tell me himself. I'm sure it's not that much of a big deal."

"Oh yeah?" Sho said in that familiar tone again. "You would need blackmail material to get him to move. He doesn't want a job, he isn't returning to school, and there is only a handful of places that he likes going to. Not that I would tell you, Composer. So go find a classroom and study! And if you value your life, that is if you ever have one, don't zetta think about asking me that question ever again."  
This time, Sho didn't stop himself from calling Joshua 'Composer', and corrected what he would say instead. No, much to the math teacher's amusement, he found the nickname a rather deep insult. He didn't see the smirk leave the student's face, however.

Josh laughed as he walked off with a grin, "Take it easy, now."

--

Visitors are unexpected in Neku's home. The only people that stop by are delivery men and neighbours inquiring about requests. However when Joshua showed up at Neku's apartment, he wasn't the least surprised.  
"Hello, Neku." Josh said with a smile. A sour "Hello." and a closed door was the welcome Neku offered.  
"Hehe, you and Sho are getting along well." Joshua said from behind the door.  
_Just what's he up to now...?_  
"It's been no fun at school without you around either." Josh added. Neku opened up the door a little.  
"What's it to you?" he interrogated suspiciously.  
"Merely an observation," Joshua replied, his tone changing. "...I'm sorry about what happened too, Neku. If Sho had told me earlier, I would have visited you sooner..."  
Neku stood a little shocked both from the sudden remark and the insensitivity. _He knows? And... Sho told him?_  
"Wh-what's it to you?" Neku said defensively. He closed the door in a hurry "Leave me alone."  
_Just EVERYONE leave me alone..._


	9. Flexible Imagination

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku.

Apart from the encounter with Joshua, Sho relatively had a good day, and was walking home leisurely, taking the time to enjoy the cool air of early winter. He would always walk by the Shibukyu Stationside and 104, it was an inevitable path he would take, and so today he took a detour on the way back. He stopped by in Molco's Tiger Punks and obtained Pi-Face's trousers. He had recently gone around school, amazed that most kids in Middle School still enjoy Tin Pin. There he got the right amount of Orichalcum to get such a tricky item.  
Pondering about what he would cook for dinner tonight, Sho made his way back to Pork City. Almost oblivious that he was being followed. "Ok, you can stop stalking me, Hectopascal. Show yourself!" he shouted without turning around to look behind him.

Holding his arm awkwardly and looking away, Neku came out from hiding. "Y-you told Joshua, didn't you?" he said with a tone of anger. Past encounters with Joshua have earned Neku's distrust. Just the nature of Joshua's character isn't trustworthy. But in Neku's uncertainty for most things in life at the moment, he was fooled.

He slightly turned around when he heard Neku's voice.  
"What? Do you think that I, of all degrees, would tell a nosey Composer what's been happening? He almost blackmailed me. He could have seen the news or figured it out himself. I don't often lie. If I did, it would be to the staff and staff alone. I know I've met him in another life, I think... but too stupid and blind from ambition to notice." Sho adjusted the suitcase in one hand, and had the recently obtained trousers over his shoulder, "Besides, I didn't say anything, just warned him to leave you alone. How he found your place, that's out of my knowledge."

Neku scratched his arm, keeping fairly quiet. This confrontation had turned out to be more awkward than anything.  
"...Whatever," he mumbled carelessly. He thought about walking off, but didn't.

Sho gave a soft sigh. It must be hard in life to accept and reject a few things. "C'mon. If you're still having trouble sorting the information out, I'll be happy to lend an ear. It's cold outside." he turned around again to head home, "Do you plan on coming or going?"

"I uh... Don't really care." Neku replied. "...I should probably just head home anyway" he added. He hadn't really thought that far ahead.

Really, was it in the teen's nature to push away those who are trying to help? Well, with people like Joshua, that was understandable. And then it clicked; how does Joshua know where Neku lives if he wasn't welcomed, especially when the chances of him telling were nil? Why does Joshua know about this if Sho didn't? And what exactly is Neku hiding?  
"You wouldn't tell Joshua anything about yourself, would you? How did he know where you lived?" Sho asked in curiosity, "And the way you said 'home'... doesn't sound like you're keen on going. You wouldn't mind if I came along?"

"A place is a place I guess..." He trailed off for a little. His attention started to wander and his tone gained a hint of harshness. "If it were up to me, I'd be gone from that place."  
Independence. The one thing Neku relatively looked forward to in his life. A life with a little meaning, and where he can take some control. Of course, this desire was well hidden. It's in Neku's stubborn nature which hides his true nature from everyone, and even from himself.  
"...First I need a job." he continued, easing his tone back down.

'_You wouldn't mind if I came along'? So zetta insensitive. You need to sound like as though you're interested in Phones' wellbeing. Go on, Grim Heaper, try again...  
_"If you're looking for a job, you may need a resume. When I told that yoctogram to shape up, the one who kept throwing the friggin' forest around, I wasn't joshing for kicks. 'Japan doesn't work like that', can you remember that? To get a job, one must present a resume with a good record in life, and it must all add up with a positive attitude._  
_"Passing Yr 12 is good. Completing a University course gets better results. (Figuring that you don't give a digit right now...) To shoot now while in Yr 10 and on the verge of quitting won't get you far. I met some guy at WildKat, Sanae, I believe, he only told me a few things that firmly concreted my aims; the first was 'Enjoy Every Moment You Have'. The second, 'You can do whatever you want in life, just remember that it takes a bit of hard work, a strong goal, and a flexible imagination'. I stuck to those values... and here I am; a Math Teacher. I could do Arts and Accounting, but... well, I need to show good behaviour first. I think I screwed up my chances on the first day... heh..."_  
_Knowing that this might have been an information overload for Neku, however slow he went to make it easy to understand, Sho paused and waited before repeating his last question, with added common courtesy; "Is it ok that I came with you, please?"_  
_No zetta. Added 'please'. Perfect.

Neku was still hesitant. It's not like he'd have troubles explaining Sho's presence at home, but it was still strange. Neku's home wasn't really anything to be proud of anyway. It was just a small run-down apartment in a small run-down area.  
"Sorry Pi-Face, but I've got things to do today."  
It was a poor lie, and easily detected. However it gave Neku the perfect opportunity to walk away. Having no real plans, he decided to scout around the region for potential part-time jobs. Work is work, after all. And the little work he could find, the little bit closer he became to independence.

Sho felt hurt. He didn't like lies. Sadly, he turned around and walked briskly back to Pork City the moment Neku was out of sight.  
_I can always help..._  
He got back, changed, this time happily wearing the jeans and cap, and decided to head for WildKat. Along the way he got the bandanna and coat, but decided against wearing them for the time being.


	10. Back on Track

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Neku, Sho.

Another night. Nothing special. Nothing ever is. Life was slow for Neku. He would occasionally run into school acquaintances and such. The search for a job had proved to be unfortunately unsuccessful in his area too. However, his meetings with Sho and some familiar faces have somewhat changed his outlook on the situation, for the better. No longer does he mope around at home, but he will wander the streets. Progress, as little as it is, is progress.  
His situation bothered him though. He kept a keen eye for job opportunities, but his chances were looking bleak. As unwilling as he was, gaining some credit for his schooling seems like the only solution.

Sho looked through the newspaper that Saturday morning, and again was chewing his pen. It had been a bad habit for him lately. _But it's so zetta addictive, for poor leading examples...  
_What he needed to know from Neku was his strength, weaknesses, and goals. That was a definite foundation to finding an easy job, or perhaps a few weeks in work experiences. He was looking forward in seeing Neku again if he visited. All he needed was to pass Yr 12, and then it was easy cash from there. Perhaps throw him in a few lessons on interviews and practice?_  
If you can't get their attention using bytes, try for the moreover social approach._

It was settled. If Neku wanted to go anywhere or do anything with his life, he had to finish school. A few years of work were the sacrifice that he was willing to take.  
Maybe Joshua would leave him alone too, being a grade higher than him. Unlikely, but at least he'll leave earlier than Neku.  
A week went by, and Neku knocked on Sho's apartment door again, waiting to inquire about the best way to do this.

Sho was quick to answer, and to the teen's surprise, he was wearing all the gear he had been collecting. Why? Because somehow it helped him relax. And it was better than wearing whatever he did wear at school. Mingling with the staff was one thing, blending was a different factor to deal with.  
He happily opened the door. "Hey Phones. Come on in." he said cheerfully, and stepped aside, quite oblivious to the other's reaction to his appearance.

Sho's outfit took Neku off guard.  
_Why... have I seen him like that before?_  
More obscure memories and questions filled Neku's thoughts. He hesitated before entering consequently. Putting those thoughts aside, he walks in and sits down in the usual place. "You busy?" he asked.

"If you call relaxing busy, then you most certainly have the two equations mixed up. But yes, I have. I just need to know a few things before starting up a few things," the math-teacher-who-looked-more-like-the-Grim-Heaper said casually, "If you're willing 2 cooperate, then I'll ask away."  
Sho took a seat not far from Neku, still having a glint of hope in his golden eyes. "What is it in life that you're looking forward to? And can you name your strengths and weaknesses? And just out of the topic... what would you like for the New Year?"

"Hm..?"  
His gut reaction was to respond with a 'Whatever,' but he kept that to himself. He crossed his arms.  
_My strengths... and weaknesses? Hrm..._  
After a moment of thought, he answered with a tone of confidence. "I want to be independent more than anything else. I don't care where life takes me, just as long as I can stand and walk for myself." He paused and looked around. "...But as for my strengths and weaknesses... Hrm."  
Neku took another moment to think. "Well I don't care what people think, take that as a strength or a weakness." He subconsciously disregarded the New Year's question. He didn't want or expect anything at the time. That's just how things were for him.

_To be independent? Oh, that's a simple goal, needs working on...  
_Sho watched Neku carefully, and also noticed that after a while, he was growing healthier. "Oh, ok. The other day when Composer bothered me, he said he was able to secure you a job. I assumed that you don't need him to do it for you? You want to try it yourself? And so... that's why I've pieced together a well prepared interview. You know, if you don't use the byte, you can slip in a resume and wait._  
_"Anyway, the best way to search for a job is with the newspaper." Sho smiled, as he went to get it from the table, quickly returning, "When entering an interview, just remember this; you're trying to get the job, and so you must sell yourself. Give them a good reason why they must hire you."

_Sell yourself, huh?  
_Neku didn't like the sounds of all this. But, as part of obtaining a job, he must accept it._  
_"Newspaper... Got it. But interviews..." he scratched his neck and trailed off. "I can't stand them."_  
_In the past Neku has had few interviews, but for bad situations. Called to the school headmaster, facing up to his actions and such. He was always looked down upon, his character being constantly judged.

_Zetta harsh, Phones..._ Sho was quick to pick up the hidden emotions of doubt, _So zetta harsh. It's understandable that you've been through a lot, I know. But you're too hard on yourself. Keep that mindset up, and you will eventually fail. Looks like this is where my experiences come in. Dealing with a bunch of brainless radians, yoctograms, zeros, and hectopascals, it's not easy, I know. Been there, done that, and left a trail of forgotten beauty in the process. The day you say 'you've always thought highly of me' is the day I say 'you've always been too hard on yourself'. Whatever it is you need, I'm there! Otherwise, I'll see you in the Inverse Matrix.  
_He sighed, rubbing his temples. This was going to take a while, and thus subtract time from New Year's cleaning and correcting more work.

--

And so the race to recovery was on. Sho disliked mobile phones and computers (seeing that by owning one, you were treating privacy with grave disrespect) but kept hold of them. Never before in a time prior to now had they use machines. But that was how the world spins nowadays, and eventually, unlike the old Sho, he had grown to accept the fact. Don't crunch it and add it to a useless heap, just keep up with the world or be left behind. Pointless. Plain zetta pointless.  
About two or three times during Neku's visit for the day, the two practiced a simulated job interview. All three were planned by reading the paper. All three attempts failed. But Sho wasn't angry. He gave the feedback and hinted on a few pointers that needed work on. Dressing up was out of the question, because he wouldn't change at all, and Neku didn't have a change of clothes on him, so arriving well groomed had been ignored. But it was something to remember.  
Every attempt took the teen a step closer to earning a job. Three attempts were enough for the day, as Sho was running out of ideas, and Neku was obviously spent on practicing. Four in the noon, and the sun began to set over the cold cityscape horizon. The two sat on the couch, enjoying each other's presence for what felt like the first time. Subconsciously, Sho involuntary began messing the teen's hair gently. "We did well, Phones. I'm proud of what's been archived today... actually, I've never had such fun in a long time. Just a bit more practice and you'll nail those radians in a speed of light without realizing it."  
_Realizing? ...Opps!_ Almost as if Neku's hair was acid, Sho quickly drew his hand away.

Neku was feeling pretty good. Progress has been made to increase his chances of passing a job interview. It was a small step closer to his independence in reality, but it was the first leap that gave him a sense of accomplishment. He disregarded Sho's actions with a half awkward smile. "I guess so."


	11. Bittersweet

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
Co-writer must have had a mishap here. While w have Summer and a new year in Australia, it's winter in the northern hemisphere. It's the middle of the year, and things tend to change when Term 3 starts. Zetta sorry for the confusion otherwise. ;3  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Sho, Joshua

With enough confidence under his belt and with the encouragement from Sho, Neku had applied for a job going at a hardware store in the neighbouring suburb. It was some distance away, but distance was irrelevant.

--

_So I didn't get this one, there's always the job going at the yakitori bar in the 104 complex...  
_Opportunities came and were lost, but Neku was not disheartened much, mostly due to the encouragement Sho gave him. Over the weeks however, the amount of jobs being advertised decreased. They both kept their eyes out for an opportunity, but weren't having much luck.

New Years Day. The one day of the (new) year that Sho really loved, and was at his most happiest. It may be the last week of the winter holidays, but nothing else got his attention that wasn't maths. And this year, Sho finally had someone to give a gift to.  
It was shabby, but it was the thought that counted. He saved up 80,000 yen for Neku.  
Serving as an extra pair of eyes, the maths teacher carefully scanned the papers. As school came around again, his easiness left him.

Last year was bittersweet. For what Neku had lost, he had gained a little in return. That has become an accepted factor about life for him nowadays though. The New Year herald a change in his luck. Putting his job hunting to the side temporarily, Neku set out into the New Year with two main objectives; Completing this year of school well and finding out the significance of the alien, but familiar memories he has.  
The mid year began with an awkward return. All the familiar faces that once surrounded him the year before had all moved on. It wasn't a big surprise, being in Yr10, and it wouldn't be such a big deal if Neku wasn't reminded of this every day, although eventually he began to accept it. He continued with his work, often still spacing out involuntarily.  
Joshua didn't seem to stop visiting and heckling Neku either, but he really didn't expect anything more from Josh.

It was good to be back at school. Neku's return made it all the lot sweeter.  
The first thing Sho did on his first day back in January was to head for the principal's office. Third term it was right now, and it would take little effort to get back on track. As for his current carving, he could not think up of anything to carve out. So he just chipped away while spacing out, trusting himself not to get hurt in the process.  
It was still a bit cold outside, yet it didn't bother him one bit as he sat out eating a sushi. After finishing that, he looked at the timetable.  
_Yep, same old same old, those radians wouldn't know beauty if...?_  
He heard that familiar chuckle not far from where he was sitting. "So, came back for more, Composer?"

That voice... No one has to look twice to know when Joshua's nearby. Josh laughed a little. "You're awfully cheery today. Someone might think you're up to something." He smirked and looked around. If anyone, Josh was the one who looked to be scheming.

"I am, but I'm not the one scheming." Sho chuckled, which was a first for him, "You, on the other hand, should have a good, long hard look at yourself. If you can tell what I'm thinking, you would know by now, wouldn't you? Because you would know everything I know, right _Composer_?"  
The tone in Sho's voice soon became evident that he was no longer frightened of Joshua, and that he had assumed that this kid is the same individual who once held the title of Composer of Shibuya... whatever that meant.  
He took another bite of the sushi. Somehow, the silver haired kid held an authority that still needed time to decode.

Josh quietened for a moment. He laughed a little to himself. "Is that so?"

"There are still a few holes that need filling. And I'm not the only one keen on getting to the bottom of this. So, got a reason why you're subtracting time from my lunch?" Sho chuckled again. He felt confident, almost invincible for some reason. It was an odd feeling, one that made him feel as though he could strangle the kid.  
_Ah... where is Neku when you need him?_

Josh smiled. It was a friendlier smile than usual, making him seem even more suspicious. "I wouldn't waste your time if I didn't make the time up again. How about lunch on Saturday at Udagawa?" He laughed a little, "Nothing weird, nothing suspicious. You can even bring Neku along too if you like."

Sho almost dropped his sushi on hearing that invite. "You're zetta kidding. Udagawa is nothing more than an Inverse Graveyard. And I don't think Phones would like to come along, especially if it's an invite from _you_. Ah, now I've lost my appetite to the heap."  
He got up, passed Joshua with a weary glare and dumped the remains into a bin, making his way back to the last few Maths classes for the day.

Josh shrugged. His phone went off after Sho's departure. He answered it, making no reply, but listening to what the other has to say. He smirks a little as he watches Sho leave.


	12. The Good and Bad News

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Sho.

Math. Math was math, no matter what math you're doing. It was all the same to Neku, except he liked his teacher. It was a little weird to consider his maths teacher, of all teachers, as a friend. Though, this didn't really make things that different. Neku and Sho both kept their distance during class, focusing on the work. It was easy sailing. Neku had learnt most of this math works before, so he had a little advantage. He finished his work quickly and spent the rest of his time spacing out.

Sho kept pacing around, keeping a keen eye out for students in need of help. For some reason, he thought it wasn't such a bad idea keeping a megaphone in handy, but he knew he'll get into trouble for hollering at naughty students with it, it would be amusing, though.  
At last, he sat down again, marking other class work and as such, occasionally checking his new laptop for any emails from other staff members.  
"By the way; Neku Sakuraba, I wish to have a word with you when the bell goes, if you can lend a bit of time." he announced as he looked at the clock, which was nearing the end of day bell.

Neku shrugged and waited behind in his seat after everyone left. "What did I do this time?"

"Haha.... good acting Phones." Sho chuckled, "You're not in trouble. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Indifferent, he shrugged again. "The bad, I guess?"

Sho had to do careful thinking without upsetting Neku again, afraid to suffer a few more months of emptiness. Finally, he spoke up.  
"Ok. Lunch time, Joshua took it upon himself to not only subtract time from my meal, but turned it into garbage by ruining my appetite. He asked me to go to Udagawa for lunch, and was wondering if you would come along. I said that there was a chance you wouldn't come anyway, but something feels so zetta out of place. It makes me quake like a pathetic... I don't know... human, perhaps? It's this Saturday." a pause, "You don't have to if you don't want to, but it feels... wrong..."

Neku crossed his arms. _Udagawa...?_  
"Hrm... If Joshua's behind something, it's no good to begin with. Udagawa is just full of ghost stories." He took a moment to think. "...but on the other hand, I want to know what Josh is up to." He shrugged. "Your call. And the good news?"

"I was meaning to give this to you. Happy New Year." Sho smiled, as he dug into his pocket and produced a small envelope with the yen inside. He handed to Neku, still smiling, and a glint of happiness could be seen in his golden eyes. The old Sho was never happy, just plain ambitious.  
_Common sense is garbage._  
_No, it isn't, it's a way of life, like conflict; inevitable. Just like your fate; inevitable. One mistake, try again later, unless you're in a life-and-death situation. Then you're iterated..._  
Sho snapped out of his thoughts, a little surprised by the positive attitude the other was showing.

Neku really didn't know how to react. He never expected any otoshidama, let alone such an amount from Sho. He thought about rejecting it, but he didn't. He smiled with gratitude.  
"T-thanks...!" he stuttered, not really knowing what else to say for the situation.

Sho smile and waited for Neku to settle down. He then looked at the time. "Ok, run along. Spend it wisely, or save it for something else. I need to hustle home, too." he got up, still smiling, "And remember; the zetta creepy lunch is this Saturday. I'm not keen on going, but I want to get down to the bottom of this. I can't rest until the equation has been resolved."

Neku nodded and walked off hastily, putting the envelope in his backpack and swinging it onto his shoulders as he left the room. The route taken home was the same as last year, however something felt different this year. He decided not to think about it too much, thinking instead about what Joshua is up to. Common sense tells Neku to avoid Josh like the plague, but curiosity drives him closer to the truth.  
Lately there have been many answers Neku wanted to find, and doing nothing will get him nowhere.

--

Friday came and concluded quickly. He took some time to clean up in the afternoon and decided to take his time exploring the region a little more.

No matter how many times he tried pushing all negative thoughts from him, they kept sweeping back in like the tide. Tomorrow was _it_. It felt like the night before his birthday when he was a kid. He knew, somehow _knew_ something terrible was going to happen to him and Neku. Curiosity killed the cat, and right now, Sho felt as though he was one of the two targets.  
Finally returning home, he crashed on the couch again, watching TV before dosing off.


	13. Suspicion in Udagawa

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Sho, Joshua.

Saturday came quickly. Neku got up, got dressed, made breakfast. The usual. Something made him nervous today. Nervous, and a little angry for some reason.  
He met up with Sho at his apartment and the two set off on the subway for Udagawa. Neku kept relatively to himself, anxious to meet Joshua for many reasons.

Sho woke up with a start this morning, absolutely alarmed from witnessing a blast in Pork City's third floor. No time to spend on thinking it over, he got up, showered, got dressed and had breakfast. Just in time, Neku arrived, and the two went out for the subway.  
_Something feels zetta wrong. Blood will be shed someday... your blood. Turn back while you still can..._  
While sitting next to Neku, Sho also noticed that the teen looked awfully uncomfortable. "Something on your mind, Phones?"

Neku snapped out of it. "Huh..? Oh, it's nothing." He looked around the crowded subway.  
"...It just feels like déjà vu..."

--

The two left the station at Udagawa. The meeting place wasn't far ahead. Neku kept an eye out, but watched the ground go by most of the time. His heart was racing and he looked up to the side. _I used to come here all the time..._  
He stopped to look closer at the wall. When he looked up at the sound of a footstep, Joshua was there with a devious expression. His heart felt as though it had just been shot. He stood stunned for a while and looked down. No blood. No shot. The two were in immediate danger with a look.  
Joshua just smiled. "Good, you both made it." he said calmly. "There's a good sushi bar I've found just around the corner." he continued as he walked off. Neku gave Sho a look of uncertainty before following Josh. It was time for answers.

Not making it obvious to anyone and anything around himself, Sho had to admit his heart had been pounding away the moment they entered Udagawa. If this kept up at the rate it was at, he may as well have a heart attack.  
One glance at Neku was all it took. "I know... I'm scared too."  
He reluctantly followed the boys, keeping on high alert for anything that could kill in seconds. "I think I don't want to eat right now..."

The sushi bar seemed to be quite popular with young people and businessmen. It was surprising that such a place existed in Udagawa, but Neku didn't think about it.  
The three of them sat down at the counter. Joshua laughed and smiled, looking over at them both. "Get whatever you like, it's my shout." Trying his best not to think about the foreboding feeling, Neku orders the most expensive pieces available.  
"Why did you bring us here?" he blurted out with a stern face.  
Unamused, Joshua makes a reply. "Can't I have lunch with some friends sometime?" he said happily, picking at the sushi he ordered in front of him. He looks over at Sho. "Hm? Not hungry?" Josh smiled. "Don't hesitate to order whatever you like."

Sho sat down, trying to hide his scared and confused situation.  
_Friends? Don't go thinking that far ahead, Composer. You're not a friend of mine, that I know very well of._  
"Not hungry." Sho said quietly, not giving a digit on how pathetic he felt. He kept staring at a spot ahead of him. He sighed; he would regret not eating later on.

Joshua laughed a little. "That's a shame. Best sushi in Tokyo. And that's quite the accomplishment"  
A slow and tense half hour progressed with hardly any conversation from either Neku or Sho besides the quick sarcastic remark. Joshua had payed and left the sushi bar with the others. Neku relaxed a little. He was eager to leave, and immediately.  
"Well, I guess we'll see you at school sometime," Neku said in a hurry, turning his back and attempting to make an escape "...unfortunately." he murmured to himself.  
Joshua smiled "Oh? Leaving already?"  
Neku turned around, his heart racing more than ever. Josh had reached into his pocket. Neku froze and he felt the same gunshot like feeling in his heart again.  
Joshua had pulled out his phone and held it to his ear, making no reply as usual. "Understood," he said in a serious tone, before smiling at the others. "Yes, I s'pose we will."  
_What... What just happened? _Neku stood there, frozen and speechless.  
Joshua waved. "Well, see you Neku," he began to walk off. "And you, Sho."  
As if he was just staring into the face of death, Neku had waited until Josh was out of sight before sighing a little. Nothing. Nothing happened. No answers, no nothing. But for some reason Neku still felt the danger.

Sho waited, watching Joshua carefully until he was out of sight. "I don't like this. We better bounce before something _else_ happens." No zetta. Yep, his mind was messed up, blocked by the persistent alarm in his head saying to move now, or never move again.  
"Back to the subway?" he asked, paused, got his reply, "Alright, just be very careful of whatever happens around you." He got up and began to walk slowly; the winter cold wasn't enjoyable for the first time. Something inside felt wrong, _very wrong_, and if caught standing in a certain area in Udagawa, the déjà vu event would be triggered.

Neku was quiet for the whole evening. He spent his Sunday studying at home and keeping himself preoccupied. He was hesitant to go to school the following day, knowing Joshua would be there.  
The experience in Udagawa on Saturday left him feeling both anxious and made him want to seek the truth to the uncertain memories that have been coming to him.


	14. True Colours start with Red

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Joshua, Sho.

Monday morning Neku was hesitant to collect his things and to take the subway, but his burning curiosity drove him forward. He kept to himself during the first two lessons, and kept away from others behind the manual arts buildings at lunch. A gunshot was heard close by, and footsteps approached. He braced himself and rushed to the edge of the building to see who it was. A flash of silver was all it took for Neku to recognise Josh. In an instant he was pinned back against the brick wall. Neku attempted to struggle loose, but froze instantly at the sight of a gun being held to his temple. A surreal sense of numbness overcame Neku's thoughts as Josh leaned in closer with a smirk "Looks like we need you again, Neku Sakuraba."  
Before he pulled the trigger, he looked over his shoulder, letting go of Neku and backing off. He held the gun out in front of him. His calm disposition quickly turned into anger as Sho appears from behind the corner, holding his bloody arm.  
Neku was paralysed in shock.

_Go home, hit the bed for a night snooze, and correct more sheets on Sunday...  
_His 'to-do list' froze when Monday came around. _Danger. Danger, danger, danger. If you go to school today, you're dead. If you go elsewhere like Udagawa, you're dead. But if you stay... you're brain dead. What choice do you have, Pi-Face? Phones is in danger, can't suffer another loss, can you?  
Monday. Started off in routine. Good. No, not good. You're still in danger. Damn it Pi-Face. Leave Neku and the school grounds, or face death?  
_Lunch, the death hour rings. After eating lunch which what felt like his last meal, Sho decided to pace around. Today was not a good day to mingle with the staff. In the end, he felt relaxed, precisely during the time he flew under the radar, at around the manual arts buildings. Just then, a gunshot went off which took the math teacher by surprise. His heart almost jumped into his throat. Next to come was the searing pain in his right shoulder._  
_"Damn! Not now!" he cursed as he held the pierced wound on his shoulder, gradually oozing blood. He caught a glimpse of the sliver-haired kid going around the corner. That was all it took to find strength. Neku was next!_  
_He just made it around the corner, only to be met with a gun aimed at his forehead from a distance. The holder was none other than Joshua. If his arm wasn't hurting so badly, he would raise both hands in the air. Standing behind Joshua was the teen, obviously not dead yet._  
_Out of instinct, Sho began to value the teen's life over his own, and was soon shouting, "Neku! Run! Get out of here!"

Neku snapped out of it once he saw Sho. He saw Joshua aiming at him and charged relentlessly, tackling Josh down. He started to punch him repeatedly out of rage. After a few blows he held himself back, Joshua looking up with a sadistic smirk. Regardless of his wounds, Josh raised the gun to Neku's forehead. That surreal sensation came over Neku again. Josh's smile was the last thing he saw before falling to the ground, everything spinning in a red blur.  
There was no pain. Emptiness and nothingness was all that he could see.

Joshua had managed to crawl on his hands. He looked up at Sho, aiming the gun as he did with Neku.

Everything went so fast. Sho was given no second to spare when Neku tackled the armed student to the ground. Another bang rolled back and forth, its sound echoing off boundaries. More oozing blood.  
Immobile with grief, Sho was unable to call for Neku's name, his voice failed him.  
Tears began to run at the sight of the lifeless student, his friend gunned down without a sign. A headshot. He heard a click, and regretted looking up at Joshua. Because the next thing he managed to memorize was yet another bang. Everything inside him grinded to a halt, the glint of life leaving his golden eyes as he collapsed next to Neku.  
No pain, as his vision failed him at last.


	15. Pact

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Sho, Neku.

-**Day 1**-

_Neku Sakuraba...?_

_Heh... see you on the flipside... _

_the Inverse Matrix... if I can make it..._

A honk, smell of pollution... and the _noise!_  
Sho woke up with a start, stiff from sleeping on the cold ground. He slowly picked himself up, trying to recall what had happened. _Wasn't I supposed to be dead?_  
Lying next to him was a familiar orange haired teen, obviously spent from whatever he was doing.  
The math teacher had a look at himself in the reflection of a window and almost had a heart attack; he was wearing all of Pi-Face's gear, and his left arm somehow went black. _Ok... zetta uncalled for._  
His golden eyes caught a man in a red hooded jumper. This was all too... familiar. And definitely unwanted. The rules of this time and place rang clear in his head; he knew what to do, but wasn't sure if Neku did otherwise.

A few minutes later Neku had woken. He staggered on the floor a little. When he opened his eyes, he had realised what had happened. He put his hand to his forehead, only to find nothing there. Dazed and confused, he just lay there. _Am I dead...? Is this a dream?_ He looked up at the buildings as he lay down. _Was that a dream...?_

Neku's stirring hadn't gone unnoticed. _No time for a dirt nap!_  
Sho felt his shoulder where he was shot first. It was stinging, but not an obvious wound was evident. Neither was there a wound on his forehead. _Dirty little sneak..._  
They couldn't idle around for very long. Sho sighed, and somehow managed to get a blue megaphone out. It was either sleeping in, or a wakeup call, and he knew what he would want in the end.  
"Rise and shine, Radians!" he didn't shout loud into the megaphone, didn't need to. Even his ears were left ringing, yet he kept going, "No time for a dirt nap! Get up, c'mon! On your feet. It's either them or you!" This wasn't aimed only at Neku, but at others whom also seem to be in the same situation.

_What... What is that?_ He got up slowly, his ears ringing. He rubbed his neck and took a better look around. He had to look twice at Sho. "Pi... Pi-Face?" he said in disbelief. He walked over to him, "You're OK now, right?"

The moment Neku got up and spoke, Sho stopped his megaphone and glared at him in confusion. "And who the factor are you? Either my memory has been subtracted, or we've never met before. And no, I am not fine, just zetta confused... what did you just called me?" he quirked an eyebrow, just knowing he met the teen before.  
"Anyway, no time for that. You need to find a partner. Now. Go on."

"H-huh...?" Neku looked away at the ground, holding a hand to his head. He was convinced that this was just a weird dream. He started to walk away slowly. "Wake up, damn it!"  
He found comfort in knowing that this was a dream. But why was it so familiar? There was nothing to like about this. Neku just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and to continue his mediocre life.

A beep went off in his pocket. Sho was quick to get his mobile out. He was about to read his incoming message when he looked over at Neku. "Hey Phones! This isn't a dream. No taking a dirt nap!"  
Another thing he noticed was a new pin on his hat; the Player Pin. Ironic. But it made logic sense. "You're dead. I'm dead. And anyone else listening to us are dead also." Apparently, he didn't give a digit to anyone's reactions, least of all, Neku's.

If this was real, then why did everything feel so... surreal? As hard as he tried, Neku failed to wake up from this dream. He opened his left hand to find a curious Player Pin there. One look brought back many images buried deep in his obscure memory. He held it tight and looked back at Sho. Feeling backstabbed, Neku instinctively walked away. His distrust for people slowly made its way back into Neku's mind.  
_Even after all this... I let my guard down._

_Make your way to 104 in 60m  
Fail, and Face Erasure  
Note: You won't make it without a pact,  
so find a partner to proceed._

_~The Reapers_

After reading that message, Sho felt a sharp sting on his left palm. Standing in bright contrast with the black tattoo on his palm, glaring at him as clear as day, was the timer. And it was counting down with every passing second.  
"Where is your originality?" Sho muttered, as he put the mobile away. Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye, as a Noise planned to sneak up on Neku, who was currently oblivious at this moment.

The same sharp pain appeared on Neku's palm. He took some time staring at it. _What is this?_  
A low growl broke his trail of thought. Neku looked to find the origin of the growl, finding a wolf-like Noise staring him down at a distance that was too close for comfort. He stood back as the Noise advanced. The Noise gained speed and Neku started to run, disregarding his destination.

Sho had no time to watch; a frog Noise came flying from behind him. It took a few seconds for his reflexes to kick in, and nearly dodged the frog. "Stupid 000s."  
He took off after Neku, eventually stopping at the Statue of Hachiko. Without thinking, he began shouting again, "Hey Phones! I'm offering a pact. If you don't wish to be iterated by these Radians," smirking, as he pointed his thumb at another wolf Noise before having to dodge again, "I zetta highly recommend you accept. Otherwise, kiss your rights of existence goodbye, and accept Erasure at 299,792,458 m/s!"

Neku almost tripped over a few times. _Pact?_  
"F-fine, whatever, just get rid of this thing!" he shouted. He didn't care what he got himself into, just as long as it got him the hell away from that wolf. Dream or not, getting mauled isn't great.

"Pact accepted!"  
Just like that, the two were engulfed by a flash of blue light, and the pact was forged. "Take care of that Garage Wolf, then we'll talk!"  
For temporary reasons, the two went to confront the Noise in the different planes.

"Wait, what?"  
Confronted with the Noise, he felt a power within him that could overcome the monster. There was something else too, he felt different in some way. Staring at the Garage Wolf, that was some distance from him, his confidence had escaped him. He looked around for Sho. "What is this thing? Kill it already!" he shouted desperately, while keeping an eye on the Noise. The wolf had lunged forward, leaving Neku with no time to think, but only to react. The Noise spontaneously caught alight and backed off, wincing. Neku looked up surprised. "What was _that_?!"

"Relax, Phones! I got this!"  
Somehow, Sho was able to communicate using the Light Puck. "Now you land a hit. Keep the Puck in play, if you can." He already figured out his psych, if on the ground, it would be hand-to-hand combat, in the air... that will take time to remember...  
He landed a hard punch on the already weakened wolf, which soon vanished into erasure, thanks to Neku.

Neku sighed out of relief. Fighting that thing is something he didn't want to go through ever again. He walked over to Sho. "What the hell was that? And what is this place?"  
Nothing made sense anymore.

Sho looked at Neku. _I'm stuck with this Radian for the week? And I keep calling him Phones... what's going on?_  
"First of all... who are you? And this isn't the Shibuya you know well of. More on that later. Right now, we zetta bounce to 104. We have... 30m left approx. You may as well deal with the Noise, we're stuck here for a week."

"You... don't remember me?"  
Neku wasn't as surprised as he thought he would be. This Sho was so unlike the Sho he knew in the RG. Knowing that there were more Noise around was troubling though. For some reason, Neku had convinced himself subconsciously that he couldn't deal with any of this.  
He looked around. "104...? Where's that from here?"

This was going to take a while. "From the Hachiko Statue, if you face the Scramble Crossing, and look left, you'll see a tall building with '104' on it. Or so the Reaper radians call it. It must be a different number by now."  
Sho looked around, then at the timer, then Neku. "Well? No time to idle. Ignorance is garbage. Are you coming or not?"

With a nod and a shrug, Neku started walking towards the Scramble Crossing, but not distancing himself too far apart from Sho. The two fought a few gangs of Noise, Neku often waiting until they were weak to attack, leaving Sho to do most of the work. He had quickly grown accustom to fighting with psychs, as if he had prior use of them.


	16. Cornix Canor

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Sho.

-**Day 1**-

Their destination was visible from the cityscape with 15 minutes left on the timer. There was enough time to spare at this rate. The two were stopped in their tracks from approaching the crossing by a large crow-like Noise accompanied by a hoard of smaller crows.

"Ah..." Sho smiled, as he looked up at the crows, "The old Cornix Canor back for more? Fine by me. Demolish this digit before the timer can finish it. I'll need you to keep up, Phones. And stop zetta slacking, I'm not your slave driver." He started by taking a lunge at a lone Decadraven, hoping to get a leg up on the larger Noise.

"Yeah, whatever." Neku mumbled. He hesitated to attack for a little while. The Cornix Canor had targeted him and swooped down. Neku was forced to the ground in order to dodge the potentially devastating attack. He hesitated again and finally made his move on the Canor, striking it with a bolt of lightning. He focused his attacks on the Canor while dodging as many Decadravens as he could. He managed to do a significant amount of damage on the Canor.  
With only 6 minutes left on the timer, the Cornix Canor showed little signs of faltering. If they didn't run or destroy it now, they would surely face erasure.

"Pathetic zetta sons of digits!"  
With every passing second, they were nearing the end of the timer. Chances were looking bleak. "Pick it up, Phones! Our game ends when time expires! Tangent!" That had to be said in order to execute the psych. And all of them had its own results. He was beginning to get the hang of the Light Puck, too. "Try hurling that car at the Cornix!"

Neku fired another bolt at the Canor. He got out a telekinesis pin, Live Slow, Die Fast, and focused his energy on the cars beside him. He sent two cars flying towards the Canor, the first clipping it and the second landing a direct hit. On its last leg of health, Neku gathered whatever psychs he had left and hit it with a combined attack of lightning and fire.  
The Cornix Canor fell into its erasure. Neku took a deep breath and checked the timer, which shows little more than 2 minutes left.

When the last of the Decadravens fell in suit into erasure, Sho took a few seconds to take in the aftermath. He regretted looking at the timer. "Gotta bounce now!" Without waiting for a reply, he took off making a beeline for the building.  
Once they passed through the wall that was once there, the timer vanished. "No more of that today, please..." Sho huffed out in relief. Once again, something out of the ordinary caught his attention. A heap of garbage; traffic lights, trolleys, cars, scrap metals. You name it. Sho took a closer inspection. "I don't remember seeing this... hey! There's something written here!"

_The Moon is round.  
Sound cannot be silenced.  
The Reaper's Game lasts seven days.  
That's a fact.  
Everything else is pure theory.  
Whether it aids or hinders, that's entirely up to you._

Neku walked over beside Sho and took a good look at the monolithic junk pile.  
_I know I should be surprised, but I've seen this before..._  
He examined the text closer. The strange fragments of memories that have been scattered through his life seem to be coming together in this obscure and alternate reality, the UG. A thought had been realised.  
_...Have I been here before?_  
At the moment, that thought was the most logical, it seemed.


	17. Thank Yodai

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Sho, Neku, Yodai. (And Pence from KH2!)

-**Day 1**-

After spying on Joshua, he watched as the living teen, their killer, went running from the sirens, trying not to get caught. There and then, Sho passed out. The frogs left him poisoned.

Neku turned around after hearing Sho fall to the ground. "...Great."  
He crossed his arms and composed himself. _At least this 'mission' is over..._ After a few moments of thought he had an epiphany. "The Boss would know how to get him out of this!" he blurted out to himself. He hurried down beside Sho and lugged his arms over his shoulders. Neku climbed to his feat again and looked around. Ramen Don's wasn't too far from here, fortunately. _You're a lot heavier than you look..._  
It was a long trip dragging Sho around, but the shop was now at a reachable length.

_I've done what you asked for, you monster..._ The voice that rang in his head belonged to Joshua...  
Sho could not get his grip on reality, as he tried prying his eyes open. In vain, he was out again.

"Just a little further..." Neku said as he reached the store. He entered the building, looked around and carefully sat Sho down so he was leaning on the wall. Thankfully, there weren't many customers, and those who were there were the usual patrons. They were fairly wasted to care anyway. Another thought came to Neku. _If we're dead..._ he shook his head and went around the counter regardless. He needed Sho to help him through this game, so he can't ignore opportunity. Neku called out for Yodai and waited for a response.

Yodai was in his corner, sorting the wages as per usual, when he heard that familiar voice. He perked up, spotting someone that shouldn't be there. So it's no surprise that he was dearly caught off guard.  
He quickly composed himself and went to attend the should-be-dead teen. "Neku... you suffered a headshot yesterday... There must be a reason why you're here... and yes, I can see and hear you clear as day. This shop, after all, is licensed to serve Players of the Reaper's Game. I thought it was a myth, but it looks like you're the first customer who I know is dead." a pause, after realizing he ran his mouth with no reference to food, "Can I help you Neku?"  
Before Neku could answer, his weary gaze settled on the unconscious Sho leaning against the wall.

Without any need to explain his situation, Neku pleaded to Yodai. "Can you help him before tomorrow...?"

Yodai looked at Neku again, and without replying to the teen, nodded. He walked over to the unconscious Sho, examining him closely. "In the past, we only had a handful of cures and treatment, therefore the poisoning wasn't as strong as today. Now we have an abundance of cures of all sorts. Tell me; what is the cause of Sho's current condition?"

Neku scratched his neck. He hadn't noticed any significant faults in Sho's health until he finally collapsed. "I don't know... But we've been fighting these weird wolves... And some crows, and frogs too."

After hearing the short-but-full story so far, Yodai folded his arms. "I might have a recipe that may help his condition. Pence, take care of the customers." And with that, the giant ducked back into the kitchen.

_I sat down. No, I was forced onto my feet again. No, I sat down on a chair. No, I feel as though I could regurgitate whatever garbage that's slipping into my mouth. No, I swallowed it... tastes disgusting. A snort. A shudder, and I fell back into unconsciousness again.  
Don't listen to me, I'm speaking garbage._

Neku was confident that it was only a matter of time that Sho would recover. Yodai was reliable for that sort of stuff. In the meantime, he decided to take a seat at the bar. When asked by the waiter what he would like, he sat silent for a while. _That was me a few months ago..._

An hour passed. And another. And another.  
Sho felt stiff when he finally came around, unsure what time it was. He had a burning sensation on his back where the first frog kicked him. _So that was the cause...? Stupid 000s._  
He looked around, trying to find where Neku was. Outside was dark, the sun had just set.

What was tomorrows 'game' to bring? Regardless, it can't compare to being killed for a second time.  
_Wait... A second time?_  
Neku's trail of thought was soon interrupted by Sho's calling. Neku turned around. "Always trust Yodai with this sort of stuff." he greeted.

Just seeing the teen smile even brought a smile to the math teacher. "But you have my thanks, Phones. Wouldn't have made it if you didn't drag me around. Ah... I suppose I better thank Yodai, too."  
He looked out, recalling the moment Joshua killed them both in school. What would they have said about it? Joshua was on the run, so there had to be more to the story.  
The two left Ramen Don into the cold, bitter night. That was the last thing Sho recalled before falling asleep, with Neku close by.

The night was tough. Tough, and still. However the Noise seemed to have stopped temporarily for some relief. Neku sat huddled facing away from Sho nearby Ramen Don's. The decision to stay out in the streets was involuntary, but for the best. The last thing they want is to cause controversy. Yodai is probably the only person who could understand seeing those who have passed walk so casually into the store.  
Neku looked over his shoulder to find Sho shaking. Having failed to find any jumpers or blankets, he reluctantly shuffled over beside him for more warmth.  
It was a long night for Neku, who sat awake, keeping to his thoughts.

_Zetta cold, zetta cold, so zett-t-t-t-t-tt-t-aaaaa cold...  
_The shivering stopped when Sho noticed a warm presence while trying to sleep. Eventually, he settled down again. _Must remember to thank Phones when we're up again..._


	18. Worst of all things Weird

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Sho, Neku, Neku's Aunt!

-**Day 2**-

Morning was no better when it came to climate. Apparently, Sho had gotten used to the cold ground right now. What time was it? He wouldn't know, and he didn't count on his mobile to work right now. Sleeping next to him was Neku. _He must have been up half the night, but we can't afford dirt naps... And now I'm zetta hungry... how do we work up a bit of yen?_

Neku was woken by Sho, but softer than the day before. He got up and rubbed his eyes, before feeling the stinging pain on his left hand. The counter had appeared once again. "No time to eat... "  
_I wonder what we'll have to do today..._

The mission came with a beep of the mobile. Before Sho could get his open, the sharp pain occurred again. Once more, the countdown stood out in great contrast to the blackened skin on his left hand.  
A quick look around, and soon he was able to recognise where they were; today they were to start in Molco.

_Erase the Taboo Noise at AMX in 2h  
Fail, and face erasure  
Note: Sound cannot be silenced  
The Taboo Noise won't give chase  
until the prey is unaware._

_~The Reapers_

"Until the prey is unaware..?"  
_Don't like the sound of that at all..._ Neku looked around. He didn't pass Molco often, so he wasn't familiar with the area. "...You know where to go?"

"Indeed I do, Phones. Just need to pass through Spain Hill, then we take a left at Tipsy Tose Hall, and we'll be in AMX in no time." Sho smiled, just remembering he passed through here when he went to get Pi-Face's Jeans.  
"Our main problem is the Taboo Noise. They're not your average run-off-the-mill radians. While the Pact is suppose to keep average Noise from attacking us, the Taboo kind tends to violate that rule. You'll know them once you see them. So... sound cannot be silence... zetta duh. AMX is a music store. Before we go, let's take the time to think it over."

Feeling apprehensive about the Noise they were searching for, Neku nodded. "Let's head to Spain Hill then."  
The journey to Spain Hill was somewhat easy. They had engaged in two Noise battles, and defeated them without too much hassle. They even gained a bit of yen for later, and the experience Neku needs in fighting.

Eventually, after every battle, Sho soon discovered how to use the menu on the mobile, which was never like the way it functioned in the RG. Stickers took him by a great interest, just like sticky notes on the bathroom mirror, the middle note would have 'Look at the other notes' on it. Each one had its part to play. Still needed time to figure them out, though.  
The last match against the Noise apparently pleased the deranged math teacher. "You're doing good, Phones. A+ for the effort."  
His stomach gave a slight growl. "Oh? I forgot how hungry I was. I refuse to crunch any more numbers until that hollow leg has had a refill today."

The way they were travelling, there was enough time to spare for a little food. Neku shrugged. "Y-yeah... Let's get something quickly then."  
Fortunately, there was a decent hotdog place nearby. Neku knew that much. He can recall visiting this place once or twice before.

_Food's food. Nuff said. But nobody mentioned having hotdogs for breakfast. __Nice 1!__  
_Sho followed the teen inside, the smells already invading his focus. He also spotted the UG licence sign by the door._  
_"You must have a sharp memory; this place is eligible to serve Players." Sho grinned as he began to look at the menu.

"I guess so." Neku replied uncertainly. He can remember visiting this place before, but not necessarily in the UG. He quickly ordered a Chilli Dog and payed, waiting for Sho. "...Just hope no one recognises us right away."

Beggars can't be choosers. Just like he can't choose to mingle or not.  
After making his mind up, and paying with his own stash of yen, Sho got two Hot Dogs. He still wasn't happy to call it breakfast, better than suffering a hollow leg nonetheless.

The AMX was close by now. There was still a decent time limit left too, even after stopping by for some food.  
Neku had stopped dead in his tracks. _It couldn't be... Could it?_ His Aunt, looking quite dazed in this strange surrounding was wandering closer. She took no notice of Neku, quickly overlooked.

"The hell sorta place is this? Helloooo?" she snapped, trying to get the attention of those passing by.

Sho perked up at this. He leaned over to Neku and whispered, "Speaking Of Honour... we're in a licensed shop. I recommend you hide before she noticed. She won't know me, but you're supposed to be dead! It would be zetta weird if she spotted you."  
He didn't need to tell the teen twice. The teacher braced for the worst of all things weird as the Aunt didn't sit far from him. _This will dearly subtract time..._

Neku looked away. "...Let's just get out of here now." Regardless of whether Sho came or not, he walked on ahead.  
_Wait... How did he know about __**her**__?_

His Aunt spotted Sho and honed in on him. "I bet you'll ignore me too!" She mumbled to herself sourly "Freaking jerks..." She kept looking around, beginning to get angry at the unusual situation.

_Show time._ Sho thought smugly to himself.  
"Huh? Come Again, Hero?" he was doing a good job, taking on an equally drunk attitude, "Wassup? You look a little lost, missus." a funny grin and a drowsy look in his eyes was enough to convince anyone he was wasted.  
Out of view, he was texting to Neku how he figured it out; they look fairly related.

Neku's Aunt cringed. The only one who took notice of her was a damn drunk. "Get away, y'dirty drunk!" She snubbed her nose and made an attempt to walk away.

"You ought to talk. I can smell you even from here, and you got an off-tone voice." Sho chuckled, "I've been seeing things lately. To Observe Action... almost something like that. Now if you excuse me...!"  
In a rush, he stood up and headed for the shop's exit, waiting until no one was watching him, before going back out. To the living eye, he would vanish the moment he left through the door frame. _Any longer, and time would have left me..._

Neku's Aunt gave Sho an evil stare, as a simple comeback to such a strange shout would feel out of place.

Neku dragged his feet along, half waiting for Sho to catch up. _Just what was he playing at...?_

Whatever activity that's currently dancing in the teen's head, it couldn't be hidden. Sho grinned, proud of himself for turning the tables with such top-class acting. A smart person would have seen through it; drunks reek.  
He finally caught up with Neku, still smirking. "Did you get my message?"

Neku cringed a little and muttered. "...That's a little creepy." He shrugged and turned around to Sho. "We're almost to the AMX, we can't waste any more time then we already have now."


	19. Taboo Slaughterhouse

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Sho, Neku, Joshua.

-**Day 2**-

Sho would regret it, he knew he would, and looked at the timer. To his relief, they had more than an hour to complete it. However, nearing the designated area soon introduce a new pressure. This is tense, to tense.  
He stopped the moment they entered, frowning some. "Stay vigilant, don't drop your guard. They're everywhere..."

Neku nodded, keeping a sharp eye on the Noise. The amount of Noise in the area had increased from what he has experienced in this game before.  
Without warning, the two were engaged in a fight with a group of Taboo Noise, which had ambushed from the side. They charged forward relentlessly, leaving Neku with little to no time to prepare.

This came as a sudden surprise for the pair.  
Quickly gathering his wits, Sho began his first attack on the Eurobeat Boomer, then the Wall of Grizzly that tried attacking him from behind. All went well, until the black kangaroo-like Noise held back to dash forward. Sho sensed it coming, turned in time to block the attack.  
The Light Puck zoomed back and forth, already realising that while holding the Puck, more damage can be dealt. Over time, however, Sho began to ache and growing weary as the reduction rounds began to grow stronger. What the factor was Neku doing?  
At last, they overcame the sixth round. They earned a breather, although Sho kept in mind not to let his guard down. He kept looking around cautiously, trying to catch his breath. "That was too close, Phones. What kept you from fighting back?" he paused and waited for an answer, "Phones?" Sho had to look twice to find the teen in a trance while watching another pair of Players and even a wall Reaper struggling against the onslaught of Taboo Noise.

_What the hell have I gotten myself into...?  
_He knew he had to fight, but a part of him refuses. He stood and watched countless Noise and even a few Players being erased. It was a surreal feeling, if anything.

Once. Twice. Three times Sho called to Neku and still got no response.  
Frustrated, he reached out and shook Neku by the shoulder. "What the factor's wrong with you?! Stop spacing out! We still have a few digits to iterate!" Sho was weary that other Players around them were suffering the erasure treatment.

He snapped out of it abruptly at Sho's call. He nodded at Sho and got out some pins. Regardless of his body not wanting to fight, he had no choice. He flings a few cars at the Taboo Noise that were beginning to close in on him.  
After a few more well aimed hits, he had managed to erase the last few Noise in that round. He sighed out of relief a little.

Still battle worn, the teacher relaxed when the last Taboo Noise vanished from existence. His expression saddened once he noticed fewer Players in play. Including himself and Neku, they were the lucky ones. He looked at his hand and noticed the timer vanished.  
"The desired solution to the equation; at least we, and the remaining Players, survived... Didn't matter on performance... You're ok now, right Phones?" Sho huffed and looked over to the teen, when he looked further and caught Joshua watching.

Neku scratched his arm, catching his breath. "...Yeah"  
Curious to know what Sho was staring at, he looked over his shoulders, only to find nothing out of the usual there. He looked back at Sho curiously "What were you looking at...?"

Sho frowned at the question. "Composer's behind you, guilty as sin. He can see the UG from the RG, all high and mighty or whatnot. Dirty little sneak... First chance I get, I'm squeezing all the O2 out of his lungs. Let him experience death without the need of a gun. But 2w+2w don't make a 4r. It only creates a bigger mess than before. Ah... he's left in a hurry again." he mused, folding his arms, "I will _never_ forgive him, mark my words..."  
No sooner when he turned around did he find another junk heap. It wasn't behind him minutes ago, must come with time...

_Fear.  
It is not cowardliness, but instinct.  
When faced with something you can't handle,  
It is not in act of cowardliness to grab the rope when falling,  
It is not in act of cowardliness to take in a lung full of air when surfacing,  
But it is of instinct to survival.  
Don't take fear for granted._

Neku clenched his fist. Surely it wasn't _that_ Composer, right? The anger, resentment and fear he felt in that last moment before being killed swelled up momentarily, yet he kept his composure. It may not have been him, after all.  
The sight of the random junk heap managed to take his mind off of his death. The putrid reek soon followed. "When did _that_ get there?"

Sho examined the writing. "Well... certainly says something about our experiences of today. Seriously, only a weak radian would send Taboo Noise on Day 2! Typical... it will take more than that to keep us down." he paused, "I didn't build this... Hey... I can sense an energy spike here... zetta powerful, too."  
A few moments of pondering, before he took off his Player Pin from his hat and passed it to Neku. "Scan me with my pin... I have a hunch that something long forgotten will resurface for us and provide a clue..."

Seemed like a weird request. Neku shrugged. If Sho thinks it would help, then there's no harm. "...Uh, ok."  
He concentrated and scanned Sho.


	20. Joshua's True Intentions

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Sho, Neku, Joshua.

-**Day 2**-

Sho stood there for a while, trying to clear his thoughts and concentrated on Neku. He blinked once, and in his vision, there was AMX with a shade of dark blue. There were fewer people and he looked around.  
_Phones? Can you hear my thoughts? Can you see what I'm seeing? Try and keep close, we're going to Tipsy Tose Hall... I-I think I can see another pile back there._  
He took a careful step forward, looking behind him to see if Neku was following while scanning at the same time.

Still concentrating, Neku replied, "Still here."  
_Hm... Where is this going...?_

_Well... try to keep up._  
He kept going, the pile in Tipsy Tose Hall clear as day, apart from the dark hue obscuring his vision. _Look here; more writing..._

The text said: _Any sound can shake the air. My voice shakes the heart!_

_Can you see that?_ Sho asked in thought to Neku.

"Yeah..." Neku replied. Strange, but what was the significance of it? Somehow Neku knew that the answers would follow.

The text, as Sho continued to examine it, eventually faded away, before '_Sound cannot be silence_' appeared in its place.  
_Weird... Ok, you can stop it now._

Neku stopped scanning and shrugged. "...Don't see how that could have helped at all."  
He felt the dull split of pain shortly after, bringing a bad headache. He rubbed his temples a bit. _Guess I scanned too long..._

Still puzzled, Sho happily took back his Player Pin. "It does... in a way. That was a heap from the past. If you looked closely, there's a mic with wings sitting on top."  
The sound of sirens got his attention, as several police cars drove through them, none of which sending the pair flying, which would have happened if they were still alive.

Taken by surprise, Neku swung around to get a glimpse of the police's destination. The sirens seemed to cease no more than a block away. Somehow he feels intrigued to follow, as if those police have some significance to the two.  
Sho and Neku both gave each other one look. It was enough to determine that both had that feeling. They both started heading off in that direction.

"What would the law want?" Sho pondered sarcastically to himself as he followed Neku.  
_Wait... why do I feel like that we can't go that way...?_  
They ran until reaching the end of Tipsy Tose Hall, Sho stopping in advance. "Hey Phones! Stop now or you'll...!"

Neku looked back at Sho. "...Wha-!!"  
Before he could finish, he had ran dead into a wall, almost sending him falling backwards. He rubbed his head, embarrassed. "..."

Smiling, Sho walked over to Neku with a chuckle. "Yeah? I agree that having walls in this hell is zetta stupid."  
He looked beyond the wall, hearing the sirens fade off in the distance. "I wonder what Composer got himself into...?"

"You sure it's him?" Neku replied as he looked around.

"Positive." was the quip reply Sho offered, as he crossed his arms with a frown, "He's been acting dodgy since..." he paused, not wanting to remind the teen yet again.

Neku went a little quiet. "...Yeah."  
He looked up at Sho, taking his mind off the topic. "Well, we can't get by this wall anyway. What now?"

Sho looked down at Neku. "Wait for tomorrow. Unless you have a better idea." he looked around, "I still don't quite remember who you are, nor did you give me your name. I keep calling you 'Phones', and that's a poor nickname in that respect. Namely because you won't take those earphones off. Any who..." he trailed off, pausing.  
_Where are those red hooded Reapers when you want them?_

"...Uh-huh."  
Neku looked away. It was getting late, and there's no harm in getting a little more rest. Day 3 won't be any easier after all. "I'm gonna find a place to crash."

"Well it can't be indoors." Sho frowned, ready to follow the teen, "Simple as that, so deal with it."

Neku didn't answer Sho's hidden request, which explained the sudden prickly attitude.

Neku scouted around for a decent (and unoccupied) alleyway. Even at daytime in the RG he would steer clear from these as much as he could, but considering the circumstances, it would be ideal.  
They soon found one. Neku took a corner and sat down, keeping to himself once more.

The teacher reluctantly followed, still trying to comprehend today's event. He wasn't happy sitting outdoors on the cold hard ground, he wasn't happy being dead, he wasn't happy missing TV and the comfort of his home.  
And he wasn't happy hanging out with a radian that won't show some common courtesy.  
Bust most of all, he wasn't happy with himself.

Neku closed his eyes and soon fell asleep. The cold didn't bother him as much this night. It was a long day, and he was worn out.

--

It was a dreamless sleep, until a disturbance woke him. Joshua casually ran into the same alley. To avoid further investigation by police, he jumped into a nearby dumpster.  
Joshua wasn't ignorant to Sho and Neku's presence. Neku got up and slowly surveyed the area. That foreboding feeling surfaced once again.

A loud **clank** of the bin was enough to stir Sho. He sat up, seeing Neku closely viewing the alley. "Phones... what are you doing up?" he yawned, until the sirens followed after a while.  
"We have a mad man in the area, huh?" he yawned again, keen on getting back to sleep, until his right shoulder began to ache.

Focusing on his search, Neku disregarded Sho and abruptly opened the lid to the dumpster.  
He almost fell backwards again after discovering Joshua crouching in a thick mess of garbage. Joshua was staring back, but not as surprised. Swelling anger quickly came to Neku as he ran over and made an attempt to pummel and choke Joshua. His efforts failed, yet he continued to take violent swings at the teen. "You... you #$!ing killed me, you son of a bitch!!" Neku blurted.  
Joshua just sat there, unamused. Any movement or noise from him could easily alert the wrong attention.

Quick to respond, Sho was on his feet to take a look at Neku's discovery. He knew the teen's attempt to harm their murderer was futile, and managed to catch Neku's wrist. "Ease down, Phones!" he hissed.  
His attention turned to Joshua, still lying low. "Albeit you can hear us clear as day, see us without a doubt, right?" without getting a reply, and still trying to calm Neku down, Sho looked over to the police, searching for the living teen. Typical, those radians won't bother looking in the alley, so to say, and they quickly moved on.  
Once the sirens dimed down, Sho let go of Neku, who still had pent up anger.

Neku clenched his fists tight and restrained himself. Joshua smirked a little at Sho as the sirens dimmed. To play it safe, he still kept a low profile.  
"It's been a while." Joshua said softly in a calm manor.

"How can you be smug when, nanoseconds ago you hid like a helpless _animal_ in the ditches?" the teacher asked bitterly, "You're so dead when we make it back."  
No zetta. No time.

Josh just sat there with his soft smirk. Once his opportunity to escape came, he climbed out of the dumpster. He said nothing more, but gave Neku a small smile.

Neku clenched his teeth and lashed out again, once again failing to inflict a hit. "You're nothing but a coward," he managed to say behind clenched teeth.

Slight tingles manage to travel in his left blackened arm, as if he had pins and needles. Smirking some, Sho figured he had something Neku didn't; temporary manifestation. "Watch and learn, Phones. First non-math class for the record."  
Before Joshua could even take a step away from the dumpster, Sho took a quick step forward, grabbing the teen's collar and slamming him against the wall. Without much effort, he successfully pinned him there. "So. Zetta. Slow... murderer. Give me a good reason why I shouldn't hand you in. Because I know you're not sorry... not yet!" he rasped with rage, watching Joshua struggle against the pressure.

Joshua squirmed a little. He had a hard time in doing so, but managed to curl another smirk. "Just... following orders."

"Following orders?" Sho spat back, quickly letting go for a 25 nanosecond freefall against the wall, before grabbing Joshua by the throat. "I don't trust you..." he growled.  
More of the other's struggling followed. It dawned on the teacher that he could strangle this kid, and get away with it. He took note of the spine, the creaking bones under his fingers, the sturdy but crushable windpipe, the blood vessels... "Saying with rubber and bones... a ball is full of elastic, and will bounce back in full shape... human bones are part elastic; go too far, and they break. Tell us why I should believe you, why Phones should trust you... or we'll be dragging you along for the ride in the UG..."

Joshua winced and grabbed Sho's arm with both his hands, struggling and failing to break loose. "Y-you t...think I **like** to k-kill??" he managed to hiss.

Neku stood back, shocked at what Sho was doing. Shocked, but not surprised. He looked down. _This is what he deserves...  
...But why does it feel wrong?_

Sho tightened his grip, slowly, gradually losing common sense, narrowing his piercing golden eyes. Just when he was about to lose it entirely, he suddenly let go. Oblivious to Neku's presence, he continued to watch Joshua carefully, full of hate and resentment. "Better than a Level _i_ Flare..."  
Upon mentioning that, his memory flicked back to the time Joshua's voice ran through his head on Day 1.  
_I've done what you asked for, you monster..._  
Sho took a step back in shock, watching Joshua on the ground, coughing and gasping for air. He quickly regained composure when the black hate filled him once more. "Don't let me catch you smirking again!"

Josh climbed to his feat, using the wall for support while he catches his breath enough to escape. He looked up at Sho with a dangerous look in his eye. It was a look which both shows his defeat, and a sense of intimidation. He pushed off from the wall and ran as fast as he could in the state he was in, almost running through Neku in the process.  
Joshua was soon out of sight to the others. He came to a stop and leaned against the wall of a rundown bar, panting. He clenched his teeth and fell to his knees. Shortly after, his phone began to ring. He let it ring out a few times, but decided with the last bit of common sense he still had to answer it. His demise would be guaranteed if he didn't respond to the call. He answered, but said nothing.  
"Relax." This was the only word the caller said to him, calmly.

Sho watched the weakened teen sprint off and around the corner. He stood there, before moving to the wall and sitting down again. Confused to no end, he sat for a while, definitely weary of Neku's reaction to the whole ordeal.  
"Temporary Manifestation..." he spat to the ground, before leaning against the wall and drifting off into the yearning void.

Neku said nothing. He sat back down against the wall, somewhat relieved that no blood was spilled. He sat in thought for most of the night from that moment on.

Joshua closed his phone. He had had enough. It's bad enough taking other's lives for this 'Game', but contesting his own as if it were nothing was just too much. If his life was so easily disregarded, then he might as well make an effort to overthrow this Composer and stop things. He looked down at his hands. The hands of a killer. A worthless killer and nothing more. Involuntarily, tears began to roll down his cheek. He threw his phone down and rubbed his head. "This is a mess..."


	21. Braindead

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Sho.

-**Day 3 **-

_Find out what's wrong with your partner.  
No time limit. Fail, and Face Erasure.  
Note: The green timer (2h) show how long  
you have to find a clue. When that expires  
so does the hint. Ignore if you must...  
But you'll endanger your partner if  
that is the case, and s/he will suffer  
Erasure and take you with him/her._

_~The Reapers_

Shibuya hazily came into sight once more as Neku had woken up to the sound of his phone. He climbed to his feet and yawned. He checked the mission for today, bracing himself for the piercing of the timer that accompanies the brief. No pain. He looked at his hand. _A green timer..._ He looked over at Sho, who was still sleeping. _What's wrong with this guy..? This won't be hard..._  
Neku walked over to Sho and nudged him with his foot. "Mission time," he said in an unsympathetic voice.

_Wha--! A frog kicked me!  
I sprang to my feet. Bad move. I'm out of my vector! I feel so zetta dizzy! I almost collapsed onto the ground again. I can see the sky is blood red, all unbalanced and as such. I have a pounding headache.  
What's-his-name stared at me as if I lost my mind. Zetta duh! I don't have any grip on my reality. When's the mission? No timer?! It's a trap!! We won't make it!!  
I could see myself buckling again and weeping like a woman! Not a good image!  
_While Sho stood there, his golden eyes were dull, and even while Neku stood directly in front of him, the gaze went right through the teen as if he wasn't there, not focusing on anything.

"Helloo?" Neku waved a hand in front of Sho's face. No response. He scratched his head. _He looks off it...  
_Neku shook his head. "You get the mission? It says we have to 'find out what's wrong with our partner'..."

_Wha!! What the factor's he doing?!  
I took a step back. Aww... I don't feel so good... and a mission...? I tried asking him what it was in full, but all that came from my voice box was....  
_Sho's only response was a blind's stare and a moan, almost like a zombie with a thumping hangover..._  
_Today, the pair were starting at 104. Beyond the wall to Shibuki Main Store, the braindead zombie Sho could see another junk heap.

_...Finding out what's wrong might not be as easy as he thought...  
_Out of curiosity, Neku turned around to see what Sho was staring at. _Of course... The junk heap might have something.  
_He took a better look, only to find a mess of Reaper's walls with no attending Reapers to block their path. Neku had to lead the way, often waiting for Sho to catch up as they scouted for a clear path. _  
_They encountered a group of unavoidable Noise on the way. In the state Sho was in, Neku was left to watch both his and his own back, barely making it through 2 consecutive rounds. "The hell's wrong with you?" Neku almost yelled after the battle.

_He's taking off on me! No choice; zetta whacked out neurons or not, I'm coming!  
_Sho kept tottering behind Neku, almost catching himself in time should he topple over and fall. The teen wasn't being fair, wasn't his fault some_thing_ managed to hijack his brain. The battle came as unwanted attention._  
_When Neku almost yelled, little did he know that the noise reaching Sho's eardrums had been greatly amplified. His only reaction was to flinch violently, blocking his ears and gritting teeth.

Neku stood back a little. "It's like you're freakin' stoned."  
He shrugged. "C'mon, we aren't too far now..." Neku had grown concerned, but at the moment there wasn't much that could be done about it, either than completing the mission. And this mission is one that he'd like to solve quickly. Braindead Sho won't last another day in this place.  
After another long battle, they sluggishly made their way to the junk heap, with only a few minutes remaining on the green counter.

Sho looked up at the heap, seeing nothing but neatly stacked refrigerators. On them were countless sticky notes, and on the very top sat a pad with no writing and a pen. He looked at Neku, still dazed, and grunted as if trying to say, 'You better start climbing...'

Neku looked over at Sho. "What?"  
He then looked to where he was looking at, getting the general idea of Sho's intention. "No way, have you seen the trash in that thing?" he complained as he pointed to the pile of fish heads and discarded banana peels.

The only response Neku got was an irked look. Growling, Sho began climbing. Null brained or not, writing was the only way to communicate.

Neku scratched his neck and reluctantly stopped Sho, "Fine, I'll climb. You just wait here..."  
He started climbing, taking care not to grab any rotten or suspicious things. _The quicker I get this thing... But why does it have to be on __**top**__ of the damn pile?_  
Neku made his way to the top and took the seemingly untainted notepad and pen. He stopped to take a good look at the urban landscape from the pile. There was a surprisingly decent view. Another look on Shibuya.  
He stopped wasting time and started to climb down, taking shortcuts by jumping down on stable fridges.  
He landed on solid ground and dusted the junk off. _Not doing that again for a while..._

_Stupid kid. Wants to commit suicide or bear without a bath?_  
Sho stood for a while, then took the notepad and pen. And wrote this:

_The frogs are dancing  
in my head with glee...  
That's right... I'm possessed.  
Please... help me..._

(That's right, he also added the ellipse.)

Neku took the note and scanned through it quickly. He looked up at Sho with a half weird out look. "Frogs? ...And they're in your head?"  
Neku crossed his arms. _Actually, I'm not surprised..._  
"..So how we get the thing out?"

Grumbling, Sho also wrote:

_Possessed, as in, negative feeling output. Happens to living all the time.  
fn x 4  
Take Player Pin first to remove blockage._


	22. Reversal Struggle

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
Come blind mistakes creates new ideas. So we're going to blame the 'new Composer' that Neku and Sho were fighting on the same ground. He's not enforcing the two-ground (I like calling it 'the DS') rules in battles.  
If the Players fight in the different planes, the Light Puck will be in play. Sometimes moral support is needed so a Player can sometimes 'leave' the ground they're currently in to support their partner. However, the rules to the Light Puck will no longer be enforced. (Not a zetta wise idea when fighting Taboo Noise...)  
Also, be on the lookout for Sho's stickers! X3 I have weird names for them. So far, you would have seen two of them.  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Sho.

-**Day 3 **-

Neku read the second note and looked up at Sho again, with an even weirder expression. "Uh... Alright?"  
_Player Pin..._  
He reached out and grabbed Sho's cap, holding it under his arm. He then concentrated and scanned Sho. Sure enough, the Noise were there. _Strange..._  
He stopped scanning with a thought. "What if they mess up your head or something?"

_He took my Cap! THAT BLOODY DISRESPECTFUL RADIAN TOOK MY BLOODY CAP!!_  
After Neku stopped scanning, Sho tried lunging at the teen, keen on getting it back. Instead, he fell to the ground, and started convulsing.

Even more confused, he shrugged and scanned Sho again. He engaged battle with all 4 Noise.  
Neku sent a volley of bolts flying at the group of frogs in the first round. _No problem!_  
He sent another volley their way before they could make a move, erasing them. Little did he know, another hoard of frogs were behind him and made a direct attack as the others vanished. He took the hit and swung around, focusing his attention on incinerating them. The new group attacked again, but Neku managed to dodge and counter with a melee combo which eventually annihilated the remaining frogs.  
_I gotta watch my back... There's a lot more than I thought..._

--

The second round commenced in a similar fashion. The frogs this time were stronger than the last. Neku kept on his toes, hitting the targets with a range of psychs every opportunity he had.  
The monotonous second round concluded, leaving Neku disheartened. The worst was yet to come in the third round.

With two rounds down, Sho stopped convulsing and got to his feet. He felt sore all over, having to deal with kicks he couldn't block. He grew weary that his partner could need a bit of help. However, he felt weakened, thanks to the remaining frogs.  
It didn't matter, two Players fighting against Noise were better than one fending for himself and the other unable to move or block. "Still alive... and thrashing... Phones?"

"Sho?"  
Neku erased the Noise he was fighting with a melee kick, then ran over to fight beside Sho. "Don't push it too hard."  
A group of frogs slowly came closer while Neku concentrated before incinerating the whole row.

Sho's vision wasn't at his best. The blood red haze had eased off, his head still spinning. The sooner this round was down, the better. "Likewise, Phones... Last thing I need is for you to go down because of my lack of help..."  
He almost staggered when a frog quickly advanced, blocking it just as it was about to kick off.

Neku nodded without taking his eyes off the advancing Noise. Their numbers for this round were waning. He flung street signs and whatever else he could find at the remaining Noise, barely scratching them.  
He managed to block and counter a frog that lunged for a full on rush attack, erasing it.  
They both managed to fend off the remaining frogs from this round.

¾ down, 1 to go. One more round, and his problems will resolve.  
While taking on round 4, Sho noticed a great change in his favour that his strength was gradually coming back. Confident at last, he didn't hesitate to pick up the effort on his half. He would give it his all, just to make up for today's slack.  
The Bigbansprogs became a tricky advisory, always trying to trip up himself and his partner. Always. They tickled, did no damage, and made the reaction time much harder to predict. Meaning that at this rate, they would be open for the Bigbanfrogs to attack. Bubbles only made it worse. _We'll manage..._ Sho kept thinking to himself, _One way or another, we'll manage..._

Sho's efforts didn't go by unnoticed. Neku was nearly at the end of his strength. Another wave of Noise by himself and he would be a goner. Sho's sudden relentless attacks made Neku put in even more effort. He attacked with a combination of melee attacks and psychs, giving the Noise hardly any time to react.  
While waiting to gain his focus, he kept on his feet, constantly keeping an eye out on the surrounding noise and Sho.  
This was going to be an exhausting round.

_No... not good! I feel weak, so does Phones... Looks like we've reached the business end... Its(x2) CRUNCH the Noise!_  
The frogs kept advancing. And Sho always found a little ounce of energy just waiting to iterate the 000s. They could not keep up this facade for very long however, as he assumed. _Just keep crunching away..._  
Just as another frog propelled itself to land on Sho's stomach, he quickly slid out of the way, rounding a 120 degree dodge and found himself standing behind the frog. _Ah yes! 120degree, formally known as reversal! I remember now! _The frog kept looking around in confusion, not sure where their prey vanished off to.  
"Zetta slow!" Sho cried as he advanced to erase the hunter-turned-the-hunted Noise.

_That's it... I'm sick of these damn frog Noise!  
_Neku lunged towards three of the last remaining Noise, determined to end it. He landed some solid attacks, erasing one of the three. He concentrated and caused a minor fissure, sending the other two airborne momentarily. He focused what energy he had to spare to fight on a last volley of lightning bolts to erase the final two Noise.

"No more of that..."  
It took a while for Sho to notice the frogs permanently erased. With the fourth round down, his head felt much better. No more red haze, no more headache, no dizzy spells. He still felt unhappy, which is not how people should feel once the possessed were cured.  
Top that off with an empty stomach. "So zetta starved... can we get something to eat?" Sho asked meekly as he looked up at Neku. _Damn, what was his name again?_

Neku took a deep breath and relaxed a little. That battle took a lot out of him.  
He acknowledged Sho's request with a shrug. "Uh... I guess so?"

"Dips on Ramen Don's!" Sho whooped, and without waiting for Neku to reply, started racing off for Dogenzaka.

Before he could object, Neku was left in the dust.

_Good thing we're dead. No one has to see __**that**__._

He shrugged and followed at his own pace, making sure he didn't lose sight of Sho.  
Neku eventually caught up with Sho again at Ramen Don.

It was only until Sho reached Ramen Don did he remember that Neku still had Pi-Face's Cap.  
He sighed, and waited, tapping his foot. "About time. Zetta slow, Phones. Now do you mind giving my Cap back, please?"

Neku stood confused for a second, before realising he still had the cap. _How the hell did I forget I had this?_  
He offered it over. "My bad."


	23. Rude Radian and Lazy Degree

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Sho, Neku, Pence. (Guest Appearance!)

-**Day 3 **-

"Thanks." Sho bitterly replied, taking it back and placing it on his head, "My shout. So, what do you want? Surely all those battles would have worked up an appetite..."

Neku scratched his neck. He couldn't deny that he was worn out. He took a seat at the Ramen bar. "It's alright, I can pay for this one." he said with a little bit of appreciation. Neku hailed the attention of the familiar waiter, ordering the Miso Ramen.  
_Food's food, after all..._

After Neku ordered, Sho got his turn to ask what he would like. "I'd like a bowl of Shio Ramen, please."  
A few minutes of waiting, he then turned to Neku. "Sorry for not helping out while the day was early." he said quietly."Anyway... Today was fairly quiet. I heard no sirens at all. I hope I wasn't too hard on Josh last night." Sho sighed and gazed at the ceiling.

Neku said nothing. _Too hard on him? You almost killed the freakin' rat!_  
He sighed a bit, observing his old workplace. "This place always stays the same..." he muttered softly.

"No joke, right?" Sho smiled, "Ken Doi used to work here ages ago. His secret to the delicious dishes he served was the love he put in them. I remember the taste like it was centuries ago. Still the same. Sure, they look zetta rotten, it's the flavours that get them coming back time and again. I mean, have you ever tasted them before?"  
Eventually, Pence came back with their order. "How's Yodai these days?" Sho asked.

Pence shrugged and looked at the two. "I don't know how to answer that..."'

"Yeah... I've tasted it," Neku replied to Sho with a little cringe. Pence's response intrigued Neku. "What do you mean, 'I don't know how to answer that'? Isn't he meant to be supervising here?" he curtly asked.

Pence looked worried as he stepped back. "I-I mean... he absolutely freaked out when you two came around the day before yesterday. He's working just a little slower today. Been keeping quiet all day, too. And if he said you're supposed to be dead... that could be one of the many numerous wonders of Shibuya."

Sho frowned at Neku, and gave him a rough nudge on his shoulder. "Manners, Phones! You need to show some respect around here. Where's your generosity?" he quipped.

Neku grunted. What did he say wrong? It was a completely legitimate question to him. He rested his head on his hand and looked away. "...He seemed pretty cool with it all yesterday." he back chatted.

Sho growled again, "I won't have any of that. Do you honestly think you're _alone_ here? The only one on the world? Your thoughts are no greater than any other Radian around here and that's it."

Pence looked back and forth worried. He then set the bowls down and scurried off before either decided to get him involved.

"I was curious! I ask a legitimate question and get my head eaten off for it!" Neku snapped back. He slumped back down on his arm and looked away. He took his ramen with a forced "Thanks." and ate it slowly, sulking.

Sho sat up straight on the teen's response. "You need to watch your attitude. That's not what I heard from that tone. Rest assured, I've been there, done that..." with blind instinct, he also back chatted, "You lazy Degree..."  
Disgruntled, he began eating his bowl of ramen, looking away from Neku.

Neku grunted again. "'Radian'," he mumbled under his breath, mimicking Sho and amusing himself a little.  
He finished his ramen and yawned. _Not great, not bad, but I sure needed that._

Sho sat back after finishing his, keeping a smirk to himself, for he heard Neku's mumbling. _You need to do better than that, my friend._

Pence came around again, taking the empty dishes with a smile. "Sorted your troubles out, yet?" he asked, and collected Sho's fair share of his payment.

Neku paid up his share and gave Pence a mix between a weird, hesitant, sarcastic and just plain sympathetic look. "Yeah, sure."  
_No wonder why this kid can hold down a job... He's a freaking suck up.  
_Neku got up from his seat. _...Why won't this week just finish already?_

_Un-__**factoring**__-believable! What look did he just give Pence?_  
Today had been too much, even if the sun had _just_ begun setting. Sho headed outside, paying no mind to Neku. _How much longer must I deal with the Radian again?_  
He quickly found another alley and ducked in, ready to rest.


	24. Let Me In

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter: **Neku, Sho.

-**Day 3 **-

Still sulking, Neku wandered around the area, taking in the urban scenery while listening carefully to his music. He found an empty bench on the sidewalk to sit on as he watched people walk by under the pink sky, and the city lights began to illuminate.  
_...Why did we have to get caught up in this mess?_  
He took in every detail of his surroundings. Details he would never pay attention too before in the RG.  
_Things were looking better there too._ He sighed and lay down, looking up into the sky.

After a while, Sho got up again and went off to find Neku. It didn't take long before he found the teen on the bench. He took a deep breath, sighed softly, and sat down next to Neku, hoping not to get him upset again. An apology was in demand.  
"Sorry about that Phones…" he muttered quietly, looking at the teen gazing into the sky, but not making eye contact, "Things have been rough lately. The days have gone by zetta fast. I don't know myself anymore, and I don't remember you well. The past and present's getting mixed up…"  
He looked down at the ground, considering whether to comfort the teen or not.

Without looking up or changing the tone of his voice, Neku answered him. "It's alright," he paused for a little to think. "It's not like we could have stopped all this from happening."

A bitter smile was Sho's only response.  
"As part of my entry fee, the only thing I remember about you was that zetta silly nickname... unless you really don't mind. So Phones, what is your real name?" he asked in a melancholy tone, still gazing at the ground.

"...It's Neku." Neku replied, "But I don't really care all that much anymore."  
He sat up and yawned a little.

"Neku?" Sho perked up at this, before relaxing with a warm smile, "That's a nice name."  
He took off his cap, and grabbed the bandana, taking that off too before putting the cap back on. "Why the factor would I wear that thing under my cap?" he mused mainly to himself, before tying the bandana around his neck, making it look more like a neckerchief. "Zetta hot under there... Don't mind me, I'm talking garbage."

Neku looked over curiously. "Uh-huh."  
He sat there for a while, thinking of something to say to break the silence. He looked down and went a bit quieter. "You think we'll make it through this game...?"

Sho looked at Neku eye to eye. That was a tough question thrown at him out of the blue.  
"I... really can't answer that. But I do doubt we won't be the same when we get back. Life won't be the same in my opinion. And then... then there's Joshua. He killed us, but I saw no motive behind him, only... reluctance."  
He trailed off, still watching Neku, no longer making direct eye contact. "Do _you_ think we'll make it back?"

Neku looked away again, staring blankly at the night scene. "I don't know. But I got a feeling we will."  
_Nothing to lose, but what's there to gain? Wouldn't really matter if I didn't finish this game, after all..._

A moment of silence followed. Sho took a quick glance at Neku, and looked away again. "...You've always been too hard on yourself."

Neku shrugged. "I'm being realistic here."

"No, not what I meant." Sho muttered, "Always, even before death."  
He sighed, taking in the scene around himself, as the sunlight finally vanished, and the mark of Shibuya night life just beginning. "Sometimes, in times like this, the only comfort you have is your partner... Just need to think outside of the given equation for better understanding, you know what I mean? ...Might even be a cold night tonight."

"I guess..." Neku trailed off. A group of students walking by caught his attention. They looked familiar, but he was sure he had never seen them before.  
_I never asked for a partner. I never asked for any of this..._

"Heh... Unwilling trouble magnet. Happened ever since I found _this._" Sho chuckled, and pointed to the cap.  
That's it. Nothing more. The teacher actually didn't mind too much about his life, in fact, he was always trying to make the most of it until he found the cap.  
Now out of options, Sho kicked back on the bench, ready to fall asleep. "I wonder what tomorrow brings?" he muttered sleepily.

"Who knows?" Neku said to Sho, still staring at the group of teens. One of them in particular looked familiar. He was sure he had never met this person, yet someone similar.  
A familiar girl's voice ran though his head; _Let me in! Tell me what you're thinking!_  
Neku kept staring as the group left from his sight. _I've heard that before..._  
Sighing a little, he sits back a little on the bench and closes his eyes. _Tomorrow won't get any better either..._

Sho tried looking at whatever Neku was staring at moments ago, and found nothing.  
It will be a cold night, and so he shuffled close, not sure if it was necessary to trespass personal space. He hesitated for a while, before making up his mind, drew Neku close, and tried keeping the teen warm for the night. If Neku even tried erasing his partner for simple show of selflessness the following morning, that will be his own fault, Sho thought.

Neku hesitated a little, but accepted Sho's presence. With the extra comfort, he soon fell into a deep sleep.


	25. Pig Hunt & the Tin Pin Reaper

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
QED means quod erat demonstrandum. Look it up. ;D  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:**__Neku, Sho, Reaper!Yammer.

-**Day 4**-

The bright sunrise was enough to disturb Neku from his sleep. The near empty street illuminated by the sun was the first sight that he witnessed as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. His phone buzzed, and he took a look at the mission.

_Erase a minimum of 5 Pig Noise in 3h  
Fail, and Face Erasure.  
Note: No other Noise will be around today  
take it as a breather.  
The player and pact partner who erases  
Pig Mazurka will not get the timer  
the following day._

_~The Reapers_

_Doesn't seem too bad...  
_Neku flinched at the shooting pain of the timer appearing. He looked beside him to see Sho still sleeping. He nudged him a little. "Hey, its morning..."

"Five more minutes, sir! I'll get there when I get there!" Sho wined somewhat quietly in his sleep and tossed onto his other side. He came around after a few more nudges and sat up reluctantly, almost freaked when he saw the timer.  
"Strange... I didn't feel the byte..." Sho looked around until he saw his partner. "Morning Neku." he smiled.

"Uh, morning." Neku said as he got up. "The mission's not that bad. It's a pig hunt today," he continued.

Sho dusted himself off. "Who the factor keeps moving us?"  
Then he flipped open his mobile, his golden eyes glinting with mischief, "We need to find that pig! Pig Mazurka, the king of pigs. He may not attack, but the pin's effect we get is worth more than the yen it pays out!"

"Hm? What does the pin do?" Neku asked as he crossed his arms."A better question is how we get to it?" he continued.

"Well, the pin we get from Mazurka is the 'Pig', the Grandmother Lode. Worth a lot than whatever job pays you. When you wear it, the pin drop rate from enemies greatly increase. In exchange, however, you stop receiving experience in battles and growth for your pins..."  
Neku's blank stare told Sho to shut up with the mouth running. "Chances of finding it today are in the hands of Lady Luck, I guess..." he shrugged.

Neku scratches his neck "Great. Well at least there won't be any other Noise running around." he said with a little bit of relief. The mission seemed easy enough, but the time limit could be a problem if they wanted to find the Mazurka.  
They started to wander around, scanning almost every corner of the region.

Sho kept looking around. Of course, the walls were up. "We need to get started on some pigs. A minimum of 5, or we'll face Erasure."

Neku nodded and engaged in a battle. They came face to face with a Pig Samba, staring at them with fright. Neku shrugged and forced a row of flames its way, expecting a direct hit. He was confident that this wouldn't be much of a problem.  
The flames cleared up and he caught a glimpse of the pig, unharmed and running in the distance. "What?? Get back here!" he yelled at the pig as he started chasing after it. It quickly managed to escape however. "..."

This went on a few times over. Fifth round wound up the same as the first, and that left a bitter taste of hopelessness. "You're rushing things Neku. Need a plan first, or we'll have zetta zilch when the countdown crashes." Sho grumbled bitterly.

Neku crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? Well how do _you_ s'pose we fight these?" he complained.

"The world is made up of numbers. Keep looking and you'll find your desired solution. Easy said than done.  
"Have you ever thought about changing the pins, or even seen a few evolved? Explore the psychs a little." Sho suggested with a shrug, "Wouldn't hurt. And... We've wasted 15m on trying to crunch the same fast digit."

Since beginning the game Neku hadn't really explored the powers of all the pins gained from the battles they both fought. He took out a collection of gained pins and looked at them. _Hrm..._  
He shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to give these other pins a try, I guess."

"Extra pins should be thrown into the bin icon on the phone; gives you extra yen in return. Zetta convenient, no?" Sho smiled, as he began tinkering with the features on his phone, and doing just that with the pins he oh-so happened to pick up. "The output of yen increases if the pin has been mastered, just like Algebra."  
After 'cleaning' his phone out, his smirk remained there for a while. "Chosen the new set of Pins 2 try?"

Neku nodded. "I think it might work," he said with a bit of a smile.

They tried again, confronting the Pig Samba, and at last... SUCCESS!

--

Three pigs down, more than 2 hours to go.  
Apparently, shopping, Tin Pin, and eating had been thrown into the mix in order to get past the walls, and Sho was getting touché. The sooner they can find Pig Mazurka, the better. And the sweet bonus, no timer for the Player to erase it tomorrow, concreted his ambition to find it before the timer hit zero.  
They were in Towa Records now. Sure enough, there was the red hooded Reaper guarding the wall to Miyashita Underpass. "You ask the Radian..." Sho murmured, "I am NOT playing another round of Tin Pin..."

Neku crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? Then he'll just let us go by, right?" he asked with a bit of a smirk.

"No. More. TIN PIN. QED." Sho growled like a child did when he didn't get his own way.

The Reaper spotted Neku and Sho approaching him and his wall. What an odd couple for a Pact partner...  
He'll make Sho pay for thrashing Tenho at Tin Pin... by humiliating his partner. "You want to pass this wall?"

Neku nodded. "We wouldn't bother talking to you if we didn't..."

The Reaper did a bit of quick thinking before he smirked. It was creepy, seeing that the cap he wore under the red garment completely shaded his eyes. "You, orangey locks with the headphones!" he said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Neku.

Sho quirked an eyebrow; this Reaper had a goatee, while all the other red Reapers did not. Must be a sign of 'just being yourself'.

Neku's smirk was wiped off his face. _This can't be good...  
_"Me?"

Sho rolled his eyes. _And here it comes... be zetta grateful I said 'I told you so'!_

The Reaper's grin grew wider. "I want you to dress head-to-toe in D+B! Think carefully; there isn't much for men there!"

"...what?"  
Neku was taken off guard. This did **not** sound good...  
_The hell does he mean? What kind of sick Reaper is this...?_

Even Sho blinked in surprise. He coughed, before blurting out, "What the heck do you mean? No Tin Pin? No food? You're zetta joshing, please say you are...?"  
The wall Reaper only grinned in response.  
Coughing to clear his throat again, Sho nudged Neku on the shoulder. "Closest D+B store is in Molco. We want those piggies iterated and get by the wall, may as well learn and follow."

Neku said nothing. _Damnit... Why me?_  
He followed Sho reluctantly to Molco's D+B store. He sighed. "...Can't we find another way...?"

Sho looked back at Neku, a look of slight worry clear in his eyes. "If you don't want to pass, who am I to stop you?" he said bluntly, "Then again, trying on clothes hasn't been a desired past time in life."

"...Let's just get this over and done with," Neku said quietly. He wandered around the store. After looking at everything twice, he picked out a pair of skinny jeans and a studded belt. He had difficulty choosing a top that wouldn't compromise his taste or even gender, for that matter.

Sho chatted with the owner, soon remembering that about 300 years ago, or so to say, a relative named Tsubasa used to run the store. Strange enough, he didn't reveal his surname. Sho asked for a photo, but got hopeless results; nothing.  
He turned and watched Neku trying to find something not so... confusing, just to play it safe. "Be sure to try them on, Phones."

Neku whined a little. "...Yeah, I know..."  
He scouted around some more and found a yellow parka underneath a pile of clothes. He took it with him to the change room.

--

A few moments later, he emerged from the change room in the new clothes, looking down, embarrassed. "..."  
This didn't feel right. These clothes were out of his character, but they didn't necessarily look bad on him.

Sho continued to pace around the shop, or chatting casually to the owner.  
To the teacher's opinion, his partner didn't take very long in the change room, and when Neku finally got out, he personally thought he didn't look too bad.  
"Not bad, Phones. You're a lot braver than I thought." Sho smiled, hoping to make Neku feel better about himself. "So... who's paying?"

Neku responded with a quiet "Thanks... I guess," while looking away. He approached the counter, walking a little awkwardly in the jeans and laid down the right amount of yen. Once payed, they thanked the owner and left the store, making their way back to the Reaper.

They made their way back, slowly. For several reasons unknown, Sho tried suppressing a chuckle. Is it the look, where he admitted that Neku didn't look so bad? Or was it the way he was taking it in?  
"Ease up, Phones. It's your attitude that's getting to me..." the sentence was followed by a quiet snort.

Neku grumbled to himself most of the way back. It had taken a little longer than expected, but they had eventually made their way back to the smirking Reaper.  
"You happy now?" Neku snapped, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I am amused," the wall Reaper chuckled, "But I'm not bringing down the wall. I knew you from another—" he didn't get to finish. Apparently, he had forgotten how touché Neku could get when he's humiliated.

Sho took a quick step forward to restrain Neku from attacking the wall Reaper.

The wall Reaper removed his hood, revealing his somewhat unkempt, but familiar face. He smiled a little in the hopes that Neku would remember who he was.

Neku stood back. _What...?_ He took a closer look. He swears he had seen this person before...  
"Y-Yammer?" Neku said in disbelief. He stood there, a little stunned.

Yammer nodded and grinned, happy to see that someone can remember him.

Sho lets go of Neku, knowing this shock discovery was enough to cancel the flaring rage from within.  
"Yammer, huh?" he mused, turning to Neku, "You 2 met before?"

Neku hesitated a little, remembering a hazy past. He nodded. "I think I bet him at Tin Pin once."

"ONLY once." Yammer added stingingly.

Neku looked up in shock, as if he had just realised something. "S-so why are you here then? And why a Reaper?" he interrogated.

Yammer got a little quieter. "I was in the area... I'd rather be on the winning team too, even if it does mean staying in this place." he trailed off. A certain glint was in his eye as he looked up, silent. He looked back down at Neku with a little smirk. "Besides, someone's gotta keep Tin Pin alive, yeah?"

Sho stood there, soon understanding the situation. Yammer was the kid who kept modifying his pins, but neither crossed paths often in the past.

Neku was hesitant to ask the next question, yet curiosity drives him forward. "And... what about Shooter?" he hesitated to ask.

Yammer stopped for a moment. "Shooter didn't last in the game," he said solemnly.

What Neku had deduced was right. "...Sorry." he said quietly.

Yammer smiled a little to mask the memories. He removed the wall. "New look suits you, you know." he said softly with sincerity. Neku smiled back a little. The time was unfortunately running out.

With the wall down, the two could finally move on. Sho knew what it was like to gain some and lose some friends, at the same tender age Neku was on.  
"Thanks again, Yammer." he said quietly, glancing up with a small smile.


	26. Pig Butoh

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:**__Neku, Sho.

-**Day 4**-

Miyashita Park. With time to spare, they came to the wall Reaper leading to Cat Street.  
"Want to pass this wall? You must erase Pig Butoh."  
Sho stiffened at the name. "You... you're zetta joshing...!"

Neku looked over to Sho with an eyebrow raised. "What's wrong?" he asked curiously.

"Pig Butoh is bad news. If you're careless and don't stay on your toes, well... let's say it's worse than the Taboo Noise." Sho somehow kept his composure while explaining; only his voice showed fear, "We must beat it if we want to go to Cat Street."

Neku looked back at where he was looking. "Oh." he said, remaining oblivious to the force of the Butoh. He scratched his neck. "...Should we prepare or something...?"

To prepare only seemed to be the smart option at the moment.  
"One other thing; this piggy won't even run off on you. Would rather butcher us instead." Sho muttered, "So don't take it too lightly..."

_Well he wouldn't lie about this stuff...  
_Neku nodded and took out his pins._  
_After carefully reassessing his strategy, he looked over at Sho with some confidence. "I think I'm ready."

"Be ready," Sho looked at Neku, hoping that he was otherwise, "It won't play nice."  
It was his turn to scan for the Noise, and was quick to designate the lone pig Noise in the area. Upon entering the battle, they were faced with the Pig Butoh, staring back at them with a blank look.  
"Don't be zetta fooled; it's a devil to tackle."

He acknowledged Sho's advice with another nod, then kept up his guard. "Can you land long range or aerial attacks?" he asked, but kept his eyes fixated on the Noise which was beginning to look threatening.

_Aerial attacks...? Hmm..._  
"Attacking from a distance will only give it an excuse to come charging at full power. We bounce if the round gets tricky." Sho suggested.  
_But there's one way to know if I can pull it off..._

"I can drag it back with a black hole for a moment."  
Neku backed up a little as the pig slowly advances.

"No, wait a nanosecond... I'm going to try something..." Sho took a step forward. All he needed to get correct is timing.  
"Neku, don't stay behind me, just to be sure..."  
Pig Butoh was charging at full speed now. However, just at the last second, Sho teleported out of the way, levitating somewhat thanks to the recently rediscovered psych.

Neku threw a volley of piercing bullets at the Butoh Noise, angering it and causing it to charge blindly towards Neku. He started to run away, but stayed out of Sho's range. He suddenly stopped and turned around in one clean motion, firing a binding psych at the Noise to stop it in its tracks temporarily. Neku reached a safe distance given this opportunity.

The moment Butoh turned his back on Sho was the moment he made his move.  
"Cosine!" A dose of scattershots sprayed from one shot concentrated above Butoh, showering the pig with the psych that cuts the flesh. However, Sho managed to catch himself from falling from the highpoint.  
_Space divided by Time... yeah... I remember that now. Might come in handy..._ he thought.  
"How are you doing, Phones?"

Sho's move caught Neku's attention momentarily. He snapped out of his admiration as Sho asks his question. "It hasn't got to me yet." he replied, focusing back on the Noise.

Butoh managed to pull out from the binding psych, already suffering cuts and bruises from Sho's recent move. It swaggered, preparing to charge again, its gaze fierce and fixed on both players.  
Sho looked behind him, grinning, as if the pig wasn't as much of a threat. "Uh-oh, here it comes again." his psych somehow got him to relax.

"'Don't take it too lightly'!" Neku shouted, repeating what the teacher said prior to the battle. He could see the blind rage growing in Butoh's eyes.  
The pig began to charge relentlessly, leaving the two with little time to react. Neku put his plan to practice by activating a black hole psych behind the Noise, slowing it down considerably as it struggles to break free.

"This is going much smoother than I assumed." Sho grinned. He could see the weakened pig on its last leg of health, and still with a temperament to boot.  
"How long can you hold it down? I'll try close combat again."

The pig was putting up a strong fight, wearing Neku's concentration down fast. "Just do it already!" Neku shouted, focusing on keeping the pig back.

No need to ask twice. Sho closed in fast, slugging the pig around the head several times, until it stood there, dazed. Only one thing left to do.  
"Tangent!" this time, the scattershot came out in threes, spreading as it shot across the ground in a line of straight, and slamming into Butoh. The pig staggered once more before falling down, rapidly fading into erasure.

Neku stopped concentrating and sighed with relief. "Glad that's over..."  
He regained composure and looked back at Sho. "Not bad."

This battle, out of all the others that the pair had been through, had been the most enjoyable. Sho relaxed, proud that he found out more about his psychs, especially during the time he was a… _Wait a minute. What time? Did I command the Taboo Noise at one point?_  
He tensed and relaxed his muscles, glad to be breathing again. "A+ for you, Neku. But you're still leaving me to do the work sometimes. Which is ok. I involuntarily slacked off yesterday, so maybe I deserved it. And, during that battle, I volunteered to finish it." Sho chuckled as he looked at the teen again, "Next shop we pass, lets ditch the D+B and grab a few things for those awful winter nights."

"I slacked off? I held that thing back for you!" Neku joked a little.  
The aftermath of the battle left Neku feeling somewhat more confident. Ever since running into Yammer, his mind was taken off of his new clothes. He was indifferent to how he looked, but in this game, the comfort and mobility is necessary to survival.

The wall Reaper looked up, watching the two chatting happily to each other. "Objective met, wall clear!" he mumbled, before walking off undetected.  
What this Reaper saw wasn't a pair of Players resenting each other, but a father and son, even if they weren't related.  
Sho suffered a loss, but at the age of six. His mother died giving birth so he didn't know her, his father had health problems and died in an accident the night before Sho's sixth birthday. His godparents raised him from there, and he was grateful, though he would never call them 'mum' and 'dad'. Because of that trauma, never again had he mingled with anyone else until he reached Uni.  
And even while Neku has a desire for independence, he also wants someone to take notice of him, and support him while he reached for his goal. He needed a male model in the years of adolescence, and his Aunt isn't the right person to cover it. He was on his own, Joshua being unwanted company.  
Surely, the moment Neku and Sho crossed paths, it was a rough start, but that all changed in time.  
The support, having something in common, and trying to rediscover history of another time… It was all meant to be.  
And why did the wall Reaper know this?  
He had been watching the two for some time, serving as another pair of eyes for Shibuya's current Composer…


	27. Debts in WildKat

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
Credit goes to LaysL (DeviantART) for the saying 'Eating Permissions Dooms My Stomach's Appetite'.  
Does anyone else notice that when hunger strikes, Sho starts thinking with his stomach?  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:**__Neku, Sho, Joshua.

-**Day 4**-

A Lapin Angelic store was the first that they came across. Neku scratched his neck. "Uh, let's pass on this one..."

Sho remembered seeing a 'Lapin Angelic' in A-East while he tottered on behind Neku yesterday. Suppose things change over time, and the new one in Cat Street did catch his interest for a while, before agreeing with Neku. A house or two down, there was Jupiter of the Monkey, the cool, sports shop. Further down the road, there was a Y-intersection, and going right would lead to WildKat Cafe. Sho loved going there occasionally.  
"How about that 1?" he asked, pointing at the JM shop.

Neku shrugged. "Sure."  
_A shop's a shop... Except for Lapin Angelique. That's out of it.  
_They entered. Neku quickly headed to the change room to change back into his normal clothes.

--

A short while later, Neku left the change room. _Whew... I can breathe again._ He looked around and walked over to rejoin Sho for a moment. "Find something?"

Sho smiled, seeing the teen relaxed again. "I didn't need to. There's this Cafe I enjoy sneaking off to when I need time out. It's called WildKat."  
_Wait... do we have time?_  
He looked down at the timer, which wasn't red, but green. Another Player must have cleared the mission, with 18m to spare. "Check it out, can we still look for Mazurka?"

Neku crossed his arms. _I've heard of WildKat alright..._  
"Think we can find it in 18 minutes?" he asked.

Sho shrugged and started scanning. "Like I said before; in the hands of Lady Luck..."  
He paused, having to have found it. "Yes! It's in the area. Get ready, because for this royal piggy... Its (x2) die!"

Neku put up his guard and prepared his psychs. The Mazurka gave the same stare like all the other Noise they were faced with, but stood unmoving.  
_Have to make sure this one doesn't escape..._

Easy as _pi_, Sho made the first move, hoping to cut off its escape route. Out of the blue, however, a Fifenfrog landed on his back and kicked off, causing him to stumble.  
"What the factor...? Oh yeah, this piggy will have help to distract us. Stay on your toes, but make sure the pig doesn't get away!"

"Oh... Ok!" Neku shouted back at Sho uncertainly. The Mazurka sized Neku up, slowly starting to move to the side. Neku concentrated on the pig, watching its movements. Any sudden movements now and the pig will escape.  
He treaded carefully, the Noise doing the same thing. Suddenly, Neku hurled a devastating barrage of lightning bolts for a direct hit on the Noise. It winced and instinctively tried to escape. Neku quickly used the same binding psych from the previous battle to slow down and paralyse Mazurka temporarily while Neku came into close range with it.

Meanwhile, Sho kept his eyes on the Fifenfrogs, planning to help the pig out of trouble while sneaking up on Neku.  
_Yeah right... not in your vector, yoctograms!_

Using the 'sine, cosine and tangent' psychs, he made sure to keep them at bay... and strike the pig at the same time. This was going fairly well, with one Fifenfrog erased, and Mazurka still trying to get around Neku.  
"Don't go all 'Tangent' on me now!" Sho joked, as he got the scattershot psych to sweep the ground.

With good range, Neku landed some melee attacks on the Noise, inevitably breaking it free from the bind, making it squeal and begin to run again.  
"You're not getting away this time!"  
Frustrated, Neku used whatever concentration he had left to bind it again briefly.

With all three Fifenfrogs down, Sho turned his attention to the pig. At times like this, he can't help but joke around. "Hey Neku, having fun with your new friend? It has no hope now; I took care of its bodyguards. A clean shot from here."

Neku sighed to himself. _Your jokes suck!_  
The pig struggled free again with little effort. Staggering a little, Neku finds his balance and chases after the pig again, but with little psychs left, the battle may be lost.

Quickly getting over the happy rush, Sho _just_ managed to step in the way of the pig's exit to freedom, blocking it. Mazurka was stuck between him and Neku, all it needed now was for Neku's pins to reboot in time.  
"Lame joke aside. Looks like we're clocking off early." he said in a cheery tone. He took a quick step forward and knocked the pig back, forcing it to go running back to Neku.

Neku stood strong, as if he were going to catch the pig. The Noise sped closer. Neku's pins had charged _just_ as Mazurka had passed him. He swung around and hit the Noise with the binding psych for no more than a second, giving him enough range to hit the Noise with another volley of lightning, quickly erasing it.  
Neku took a deep sigh of relief as he caught his breath again.

Sho took a deep sigh as well, they earned it. The pin left behind by the Mazurka glinted in the now setting sun. "You have it, you erased it."  
The green timer expired and vanished. A beep of Neku's phone followed. "A message?"

_Congrats on erasing Pig Mazurka.  
As of tomorrow, you and your partner  
will not get the timer and face erasure.  
But if you care for other Players, it  
won't hurt to do the mission anyway._

~The Reapers

Neku smiled over at Sho. "Couldn't have done it without your help." He crouched down and picked up the pin, examining it with a smile.

The beep surprised Neku. He checked his phone, then looked back at Sho.  
"We got tomorrow off...?" he said suspiciously. "...But there are other players too..." he continued. Strange news, if anything. Why did they get the day off? Were any other pairs given time too? This suspicious message worried Neku, but at the same time gave him relief knowing that tomorrow they would survive.

"Zetta shucks..." Sho grinned sheepishly, looking away for a moment, "Partners need to trust each other, remember? So now what? Head for WildKat?" he casually walked over to Neku, still smiling.

Neku shrugged and put the pin in his pocket, keeping his hands in there. "...Might as well."

Sho said nothing for a while, still smiling. He turned to walk to WildKat, sometimes looking back. There was something about Neku that warmed the teacher's heart in a way.  
_I have met radians like you, because I have suffered familiar losses..._

WildKat... Neku liked this place. Something about it was different from a lot of the other coffee shops in Shibuya. Maybe it was the urban atmosphere with that artist's touch, or perhaps it was the local personalities that would come and go on a regular basis. Although, Neku would never visit often, only on the occasion.  
Neku took a seat with Sho after entering WildKat. He took a good look around to soak up the atmosphere. _This place has changed a little... But it still feels the same._

_I wonder what Sanae is doing right now?_  
Sho picked up the menu, frowning a bit. "You think we'd get things cheap? And when he offers an invite, it's not on the house, or at half price. Quite the quirky Degree."  
After scanning it once, he decided to order a few Donuts and a House Blend. "On regular bases, the shop is closed. By now, he should have hired a Radian to co-work here. But it's open..." he trailed off, looking around for signs of Mr. H.

The contemporary atmosphere was a nice work environment for Joshua. It was a nice chance to get away from the game, even momentarily. Earning that extra cash legitimately was reassuring.  
Joshua poked his head from around the kitchen, cleaning a dirty cup. It seemed to be a quiet time of day for the business. He looked up to see a person typing away casually at her laptop, a couple in the booth to the left and to his surprise, Neku and Sho. He stood back and hid behind the kitchen. The other customers seemed preoccupied already, so he didn't have to worry much about them.  
_...Need to lay low..._

It took a while for Sho to understand that someone else, apart from Sanae, was working here at present. He felt the tingle in his left arm, along with the stinging gunshot wound on his right shoulder. Strange enough, he didn't know or couldn't see if Joshua was nearby.  
And if it _is_ Josh...?  
_Oh well. There are other employees working here, too._

Josh took a deep breath and laid low in the kitchen area. He can't take the risk of causing trouble.  
Not here.  
But what to do...? Walk out casually and serve them, denying any past malice? Or hide behind the counter and hope that everything goes away? It was a tight situation.

_What the factor's taking them so long?_  
Sho grumbled, and glanced at Neku. "Wait here, I'm going to see what's keeping them..." he said, then got up to enter the kitchen, the shoulder wound's pain intensifying. He knew he really shouldn't trespass into staff territory.  
And he didn't need to look twice at Joshua. Sho frowned, went over and started talking to him with a mix of anger, worry and resentment. "What are _you _doing here? For Players in a license shop, it's hands on... or I'll let Neku jump into the action. So start explaining. Eating Permission's Doom My Stomach's Appetite."

Joshua hesitated, looking around desperately for an escape. He backed away from Sho, out of fear. With absolutely no way to escape, he made an attempt to smile to try and mask the fear. "I-I'm just repaying a favour to Mr. H..."

Sho to a step forward, an intimidating look in his features. That is, until he stopped short. His expression softened a little. "Sorry about the other night... I didn't know what came over me. How is your neck?"  
Not getting a response, Sho looked around. "No other escape route?"  
To be honest, Sho figured that Joshua and Neku weren't very different at all.

Joshua didn't respond, as if he was stunned.

_What am I doing in here? This Radian isn't worth my time... unless..._  
The searing sensation in his shoulder wouldn't wane, so Sho looked at Joshua in the eye. "You don't like killing the innocent? Then how can you explain the shoulder wound you gave me?"

Josh kept quiet for a while, hoping he could get away with not answering. Sho's persistence forced an answer out. "I...I already told you," he stuttered a little, slowly gaining his composure.

--

Neku sat there, tapping his finger on the table. _What's taking them so long...?_

--

"You never told me why you took out my right shoulder. Tell you what; remove the round buried deep within, and I'll zetta _think_ about turning a blind eye to your presence." Sho offered, pausing a bit, "Easy as _pi_."

Such a strange request surprised Joshua. "W-what...?"

Sho narrowed his eyes and got to Joshua's level. "I'll say it again, kiddo; get rid of the troubling yoctogram in my shoulder or we'll both spring you for the coward you are. Now. No second chances. And you can tell the Composer to get screwed, because his music is absolute garbage."

Still hesitant and now somewhat weird out, Joshua needed clarification. "You want me to... dig that thing out?"

Sho turned slightly, eyeing the doors. "Oh? Do I hear my partner out there? I think he wants something; you to pick up the slack." he said in an unsympathetic and threatening, but also playful tone. "If he has to wait much longer, staff rules or not, I'm calling him in."

Josh winced a little. "Why get Neku involved? Don't you think he could do with a break?" he stated.

"An eye for an eye." Sho drew up a chair and a knife, loosened his coat and exposing his right shoulder which had a purple bruise where the bullet went in.  
"Be zetta quick; my partner has a short fuse."

Josh took a deep breath and took the knife. _Guess he's serious..._  
Not completely sure about what he was doing, he pointed the knife towards the wound. "...this isn't very sanitary, you know..." Josh took another breath and drove the knife in carefully.

--

Still tapping his fingers, Neku hailed the attention of a nearby waiter.  
_What's taking him...?_

--

Sho gritted his teeth and winced as the knife drove into should-be dead flesh.  
"Be zetta grateful I'm not plunging that between your eyes... or your windpipe, Adam's apple and all... I'm already dead, thanks for that, kiddo."  
To distract himself, Sho began to think back to the days that Joshua was able to paralyse him from escaping the school grounds on his second day. Oh, how he managed to turn the tables effectively.  
He perked up at the open door. "No hollow-skulled hectopascal needs to see this..." Sho muttered bitterly and used a psych to lock the kitchen door.

Joshua said nothing, trying to focus on the task at hand without trembling too much. He moved the tip of the knife around a little until he could feel the metal of the bullet. He carefully dragged the knife's edge against the metal surface to find a grip point. Once secured, he slowly took out both the knife and the bullet.

Sho continued to amuse himself... miserably. He cringed when the bullet was finally removed. With his free hand, he removed the red bandana he wore around his neck, and tied it around the new bleeding wound to stop it. "I'll make up a good enough excuse. Thanks, Josh."

Joshua said nothing in return, dropping the knife to the floor next to the bullet. Regardless of Sho's presence, he walked over to the kitchen's sink to wash his hands of the little blood which was on it.  
_Sanae would not like this..._

Sho slowly got off the chair he was in, picked up the bullet and pocketed that. He then took the knife and set it down on the side of the sink that Joshua was using. "I'll blame another radian to take the bullet. But you look like a troubled Degree. If you really need anything, come and find us."  
A quick smirk, before unlocking the door and running to it, as if he had just been driven out by the staff.  
"Ok! Ok, I get the picture! Miserable lazy radians..." Sho growled aggressively.

Neku looked up. "'Bout time. What took you?" he asked out of curiosity.

Sho held the fresh, bleeding wound now covered up from view by his coat and bandanna. "They're charging me extra for trespassing. One rude Radian accidentally stabbed me in the shoulder, it zetta bytes!" he spat as he sat back down, "Same place where the first shot went. But we say nothing; we're dead, remember? They'll get theirs..."

Neku had a look of disbelief. "They _stabbed_ you?"  
_What sort of staff does that? More importantly, what did he do to piss them off...?_ He crossed his arms, a shred of suspicion forming, but soon overlooked.

"Just clumsy, they were, waving, telling me to get out. Un-factoring-believable..." Sho frowned and looked at the ground.  
"I assume all walls are down at this time of day, so let's make a beeline to Shibu-Q Heads and get something to stitch it up."

Neku shrugged and got up from his seat. "Alright. Can't fight a mission with a knife stab..." He walked over to meet with Sho, a little disappointed he couldn't stay longer, but under these circumstances, that was irrelevant.

Another waiter came out with their order. "Not leaving without this, aren't you?"

Sho payed for both (and the extra 'damage' for their riot) and went on their way. He tried not the think about the wound as they went from street to street, red hooded Reapers watching them carefully. "The sooner the better, but right now, I don't mind the zetta slow pace."

Neku nodded, taking notice of the reapers. "Yeah..."  
They had picked up the pace a little. The journey to Shibu-Q Heads wasn't far. They were almost there when Neku looked over at Sho. "How's the arm?"

"Zetta bytes like a yoctogram. Otherwise... meh..." Sho shrugged, wincing a bit. _How deep did that bullet get in?_  
He managed to keep up with Neku, today's event catching up with him.

Neku looked back on the path. "We're almost there."  
At that time the lights of Shibuya had begun to shine, a soft glow highlighting the city's sky line from the sky with an orange tinge. They had finally reached Shibu-Q Heads.

It took a while, Sho trying to utilize the clothes they had to buy for Reapers and formed a neat disguise. He went in to fetch the appropriate stuff to stitch up the wound.


	28. Loneliness

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:**Sho, Neku.

-**Day 4**-

A while later, he came back out, a bitter smile on his face. "Got it all. Those radians tried doing it all themselves, I had to make a beeline bounce. Payed for it, infinity and all... I let them lay a finger on me and they'll know who I am."  
Sho frowned in thought while holding the bandages, sew and needle and cleaning materials. "I saw us in there... no headshot wound and as such. Labelled 'unconscious'. They think we're not really dead. Paid no mind to my shoulder... now they don't have to."

Somehow, Neku was not as surprised to hear this. "We were... unconscious?"  
He trailed off and looked to the ground. _We're not really dead...?_  
He looked up again, realising something important. "Then Josh didn't shoot us?" he asked with some desperation.

"Oh he did..." Sho mused as he looked at the ground, "he did... albeit that an ethereal entity, most likely Shibuya's current Composer, stepped in and removed the evidence... no head shots and as such, but the shoulder wound provided enough evidence for the law to jump onto Maestro's tail. Hounding and harassing, I'd hate that life if it was me..."  
A lame theory, that's all it was, and ever will be, but it felt so logical...

Neku crossed his arms. "...Hrm..."  
_That makes enough sense...  
_Regardless of this discovery, this day had gone quite smoothly for Neku. Tomorrow would not get any easier; at least, that's what he thought. Neku relaxed a little. Why stress over this today? They should enjoy this free time while it lasts, because it could be the last time, after all. "You gonna stitch that thing up yourself?" Neku asked with a softer tone, changing the subject.

Sho had already begun searching for a place to sit down and get to work. He was walking slowly, since the energy spent today made him run on the last ounces he could summon at the moment. He looked back at Neku once he heeds the question, with a small smile, "I might, and it might save you the trauma if I did. It's not pretty. Let me try first, if you wouldn't mind at all."  
They found the same alley that they went in on Day 2. Sho sat down by the wall, away from the dumpster Josh was found in and began sorting the stuff. "It's a heart warmer to know that you care, Phones. I can tell by your voice. And I'm thankful for that."  
No math reference and the normality of those speeches meant he was dead serious.

Neku scratched his arm, saying nothing in return. He sat down against the cold wall, the dumpster separating the two to spare Neku the unnecessary images. He didn't usually have a problem with gore, but it was a different story with someone he knew.

Sho started by cleaning the wound, hoping his bandana didn't leave anything behind. _So zetta stupid me, I forgot anaesthetic, or something to numb. Its(x2) byte the bullet..._  
He threaded the needle with the stitching material and began closing the wound up; going fast to get it over and done with, but also going slow enough so he didn't leave mistakes. It was a small, painful ordeal, the pinch, tug and thread, yet he kept going.  
Finally done, Sho cleaned and tidied it up some more, severed the thread and tied its end tight enough so it won't come loose. He then took the bandages out and wrapped it up carefully, looping around his neck and armpit for greater support. This was supposed to stop anything else dirty from affecting the stitched wound. _I'll never do that to myself again, when I'm alive. At least the stitches will hold until the end of the game, save for the hard work in the fights.  
_Trembling a bit, he got up and threw away the dirty materials into the dumpster, but kept hold of his bandana. Now it really did need a clean, so Sho pocketed it instead.

Neku tried to keep himself occupied as Sho did his thing. "Y-you forgot to numb it, didn't you...?" Neku asked, making light of the situation.

Sho heaved a heavy sigh, leaning against the dumpster, using his left hand for the support. "Was in a rush. I didn't have a free nanosecond to get it, nor the yen. Pushy hecto-whatever. I'm tired..."  
He gave a quiet yawn before sitting next to Neku. "Mind the stitches..."

For no particular reason, words had again failed Neku. He sat there for a while, staring into nothing.

"Hm?"  
This hadn't gone unnoticed, as Sho watched Neku for a while, "Something on your mind, Phones?"

Neku yawned, and gave a short response. "...I'm tired."

Sho shrugged, and shuffled closer. "No need to get up early tomorrow, eh?" he continued to string along a decent conversation, try and keep it going, "I for one could do with a sleep in... despite the winter cold, tonight won't be so bad... but if you need the comfort... you know what to... do..." the last sentence was interrupted by a yawn.

Neku looked away. "Yeah..." The conversation died down as he kept quiet for a little while. He looked over his shoulder to check to see if Sho was asleep or not. Neku sighed a little, assuming that Sho had fallen asleep.  
He looked up, staring vacantly into the skyline. "Shibuya's lonely, isn't it...?" he asked softly before closing his eyes for a moment.

Almost asleep, Sho decided to set aside his need for it later once he heard Neku's question.  
The topic on loneliness was one that took him by great interest, which made his heart sank with every reminder. "You may be lonely, but you're never alone..." he started quietly, before drawing his tired partner close. His life had quite the background, and Sho thought now was the time to share it, "Shibuya may, or may not be, lonely in an interesting perspective... it's the population within itself that turn out to be the loneliest individuals... usually depends on how good life has treated them. Some have it better than others..." he yawned again.

Neku didn't expect an answer, but took some time to take Sho's advice in regardless. He looked down, still staring vacantly. "I... guess so."

"Your life may have been sandpaper rough last year, but you had it better than me." Sho sighed, reluctantly searching his memory to his early years in life. He didn't want to, but at least he was talking to someone he had cared about for some time. To Sho, loneliness in his life was like a crawling and spreading frostbite. Only way to thaw it out was to make sure he wasn't the only one who knew this. That, and he knew he could trust Neku with this well concealed information.  
"I never knew my mother. She died giving birth... back then I thought I murdered her. But my father...? He was a great guy. I had trouble reading emotions, and even while he treated me with love and respect, I feared him... no, I feared his health condition. I would have no clue what his condition was... and now..." Sho looked down at the ground, gaining a much sadder tone in his voice, "I never will.  
"Night before my sixth birthday... he decided to take me down to Hiroshima for a short holiday. While we were there, he caught up with good friends. Friends that will become my godparents the day after my sixth birthday. Because on the early morning hours, around 3:14am, dad died for driving with fatigue, veered off road and crashed. Anyone else involved survived... lucky bastards."  
The painful truth gripped Sho by the lungs, causing his heart to race as the memories resurfaced. He held Neku close now, as if he didn't want to lose his only partner and friend. Unnoticed, tears began to flow slowly as he gazed right ahead.

Neku couldn't help but to visualise Sho's story, the feint glow from the lights of the city reflecting a glint in his eyes. He took notice of Sho's heart rate slowly increasing, as with his own. He sighed a little, offering his presence for what words lack. He gained a sense of admiration for Sho. Even with his most trusted partner, he still won't reveal his troubles, not yet anyway.

With one hand, Sho began gently messing with Neku's hair subconsciously, apparently finding reassurance with the simple act. He sniffed a bit and continued.  
"Life was never the same. My dad's friends, Moriko and Minoru took me in, after gaining rights to my custody. For a few months, I didn't speak. They were good to me, supported me, and the only way I gave my thanks was with a smile, and the acknowledgement of their effort. Deep down, however, I never accepted them as a part of me. I never called them 'mum' or 'dad'. Grand and thoroughly thankful, but rejected.  
"School was rotten in my opinion; the kids didn't cause me trouble like I thought they would. I got respect instead, which is ironic if you ask me. There I met Yodai Higashizawa. We got along well until I had to move back to Tokyo. Blitzed my exams, and ended another chapter in my life... alone once again. Then came University. I met a few girls, none took my interest because I was too busy studying. It's how I dealt with my inner troubles. Made friends with them, and when I finished, they were there with me. The first time I wasn't alone. Unfortunately, I knew it was all too good to be true.  
"I moved into Pork City in Shibuya because it took me fancy. It just did..." he stopped. He knew he missed something, "I guess... that's all I can say so far. Between the day I began living in Shibuya and the day I attended my work place for the first time, I found this." Sho tapped Pi-Face's Cap, "I know my memory has a lot of holes because of it. For example... I don't remember most of my friends... forgotten names, appearances..." Sho knew by now they were both very tired. He waited for it to all sink in, before saying, "You're the reason why I haven't given up, just yet..."

Neku looked sympathetic, almost even sorry for Sho. Life had been tough for them both. The teen could understand what he was feeling to some extent, but can never truly understand or make judgement. He forced a little smile. "...Thanks Sho, that means a lot."  
Neku was at a loss for words again, now deep in thought until his thoughts began to wander and fade away into sleep. Time had escaped the two, while fatigue finally caught up.

For a while, as the traumatic memories vanish soundlessly, Sho began to settle. He paid no mind to the tears that he shed, solely focusing on his partner's presence.  
_Albeit it will take time for you to confess, Phones. I'm all ears; just say it and I'll be there... even when the world crumbles on us, you still got me to hold you up, and I promise I will never let you down._

_We may feel lonely, but we're never truly alone..._  
As the unspoken words in his head left him, Sho eventually felt himself drifting off, his irreplaceable partner being the last thing he witnessed as he closed his eyes.


	29. It's Yammer Time!

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:**__Neku, Yammer, Sho.

-**Day 5**-

The night soon came to an end. Neku had woken up from a sound sleep on his own accord. He opened his eyes and took a good look around, remembering where they were.  
Sho was still beside him. Neku rubbed his eyes and moved away from Sho, trying not to disturb him. _Did I just wake up early, or have they forgotten about our mission...?_  
Something didn't feel right about this situation.  
He decided to take a look around. Sho needed all the rest he could get to heal up, so Neku let him rest for a little while longer. The teen took a second look at his surroundings. The alleyway was the same, but they seem to have woken at the AMX. He left the alleyway to confirm this, and maybe find out what was going on.

The usual bustling Shibuyan scene. Businessmen and women were hurrying to work, teens and children were riding their bikes to school, the odd group of scene kids were floating by... there was nothing out of the ordinary. No sign of any Reapers either. Neku scanned the area carefully to find only a few weak Noise scattered about.  
He wandered forward, keeping in mind not to stray far from his partner when a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. Neku almost jumped from fright. He spun around to find a grinning face.

"Yo Neku, you get up too early or something?" Yammer asked in a half cheery tone.  
"Y-Yammer!" Neku replied, still a little shocked, but now relieved. "The Mission..."  
"-Not received yet!" Yammer interrupted. "See that wall over there?" he asked as he pointed to the Centre Street entrance. "That's my post. You should probably go get ready for the mission if you have some time." he added. A quick beep sounded. Yammer checked his pager, and with no time for any objections by Neku, he smiled and teleported away. Neku stood there, a little dumbfounded. _Guess he hasn't changed much..._

The warmth of his partner eventually left Sho as he began to stir in response. The stitched knife stab felt stiff as his nerves began to reconnect with his body. It took a while to open up his eyes. After carefully glancing around, he noticed his partner wasn't with him. "Neku?" he asked quietly, a little worried.  
He got up to search for his partner, panic rising gradually.

Neku shrugged and decided to head back to the alley. _So I was early..._ He peeked into the alley, to find Sho missing. "Oh no..." he mumbled and looked around. _He can't have gone far..._  
"Sho?" he shouted while walking around. _Where'd he go?_

Sho wasn't far from the alley, and apparently was in earshot with Neku's voice. He slowly turned around to find the teen looking for him. "Over here!" he called back, relieved at last. However, the noise of passing pedestrians swallowed his voice. A little frustrated that Neku didn't hear him, he got his blue megaphone out.  
_I never thought I still had this..._  
Taking a deep breath, he began to speak casually into the megaphone, his amplified voice overpowering the unnecessary noise. "Morning Neku! I'm over here!"  
His partner perked up, looked around, and quickly found Sho standing in the ever flowing crowd.

Neku caught up with Sho, also relieved to see his partner.  
_...He had a megaphone on him?_  
"Mission hasn't come yet..." he said anxiously. Today will be tough; he had a gut feeling it would.

Smiling, Sho put away his megaphone. "I forgot I had this. Been with me since Day 1. Must be a psych, though. I possibly can't stuff it into my pockets, heh..." he added sheepishly, "So what did you do while you were up?"

Neku crossed his arms, standing more casually. "I ran into Yammer. He's guarding a wall nearby." Neku shrugged, "He's a weird one..." he added, mumbling under his breath.

The crowd sucked up Neku's mumbling. "Can we go somewhere where we won't drown in a sea of imaginary noise?" Sho asked, his slight tired state amplifying his reception, gradually bringing on a headache.

Neku nodded. This was a bad place to stand...

They both moved out of the pathway and onto the open streets, which were populated by the occasional cyclist and scooter. "Oh..." Neku looked over at Sho. "How's the arm?"

Sho felt much more at ease in a quieter place. "Not bad, not sure. All I know is that it feels zombie stiff..."  
He trailed off, looking at a pile of mattresses, pillows and blankets. "Why is it that piles appear behind you?"

"Hm?"  
Neku turned around and crossed his arms. "...I know this should shock me more." he joked a little. A discarded stove with some writing on its panel caught his attention. He walked over to get a closer look.

One said;  
_Be here. Be present.  
Wherever you are, be there._

The second;  
_Today's trend ends up_  
_in tomorrow's landfill._

Sho eventually caught up and stood next to his partner. "Who's the Radian that keeps making these?"

Neku didn't reply, but focused on the text instead. _I remember these..._  
For no apparent reason, Sho's megaphone came into his mind briefly. A coincidence?  
Neku shrugged. "What's the point?"

Sho was thinking the same thing; the megaphone. Neku's question baffled him, however. "Define 'what's the point?'. I don't see a connection."

"What's the point of all these piles, anyway?" Neku replied, being a little stingy.  
"...And still no Mission yet. This is suspicious..."

"Perhaps the Radian likes drawing attention. It could be GM, a poetic one at that. It zetta baffles me..." Sho replied with an amused tone. He checked his mobile for the time. "...Still early in the morning... yeah, this is suspicious..."

_Wonder when it'll come..._  
Neku scratched his head. His anxiety began to overcome his patience. "...What now?" he asked plainly, not knowing what else to do.

"Got a lot of questions on you today, huh?" Sho smirked. Personally, he was getting sick of questions. "Enjoy the day off while-"

Suddenly, the message gave the beep.

_An Ovis Canor has surfaced and  
possessed a shop keeper.  
Track it down and erase it  
immediately. 120m  
Fail, and Face Erasure._

_~The Reapers_

Seconds later, Neku's phone gave another beep;

_P.S. Neku Sakuraba. Congratulations  
for erasing Pig Mazurka yesterday.  
This mission is not mandatory to you  
and your partner, but it would be nice  
help anyway. Therefore, when the  
timer hits zero, you will not face erasure._

_Speak of the devil...  
_After checking the mission and the following note, Neku crossed his arms again, beginning to get suspicious of the Composer's favour of him and his partner in the last few days.  
Regardless, the task at hand sounded like a challenging task. "Ovis Canor..."

_Ovis... Ovis... where have I heard of this before?_  
Sho read over his message a few times over before shutting his mobile. "Ovis sounds familiar... If I knew what it meant, I might be able to explain. But never as a Canor..." he mused, half talking to Neku, half raking his unknown past for answers.

Neku started to think carefully. This Canor could be trouble, and the other Players may not be able to handle it. "And it possessed a shopkeeper..." he stated to clarify the situation.  
_If it's a shopkeeper, then at least we know where to start._

Sho turned to face Neku, "Shop keeper, huh? Where do we start? ...More importantly, we have the day off, do you want to do the mission?"

"...Around the shops?" Neku said with a bit of an awkward laugh. "A-and we should do this... What if the other Players can't handle it?"

_Ovis... Ovis... Ovis... Cantus...?_  
"Of course!!" Sho exclaimed as that small fragment entered his thoughts, "Let's start with Dogenzaka. I have a feeling that maybe your boss is involved!"

Neku shrugged. A gut feeling is better than a stab in the dark, after all.  
The quickest way to Dogenzaka from the AMX was pass Yammer's wall. Today there was not a great need to fight the Noise either, so there were fewer obstacles to be confronted with. They were greeted by a grinning Yammer when they reached the district exit. "You want to pass this wall?" he asked casually.

"Would we not want to pass this wall?" Sho replied playfully, "Or even look for an excuse to play Tin Pin? Ok, that's enough going tangent. What's the catch?"

Yammer stood there, a little dumbfounded. "Yeahhhh..."  
He reached out in front of him enthusiastically. "You guessed it." An advanced looking Tin Pin shooter appeared in his hands. Yammer held it out for the others to see. "Made this one myself. Increases all stats while giving you the edge on the first shoot... Also doubles for a nice taboo-slam." he bragged.  
Neku and Sho looked at him, unimpressed. Yammer cleared his throat. "One round of Tin Pin and I'll let you pass."

_Knew it... I don't want to play another round for ages, ever._

Grumbling for a while, Sho turned to Neku. "You play, the round is all yours. QED."

"What? Why me?" Neku objected. He grumbled after getting stared down by Sho and turned to Yammer. "...Fine." He rustled around his pockets and took out his deck of pins.

"I'll get my revenge this time, right here and now, Neku!" Yammer shouted with determination. At the count of three, led by the direction of Sho, they both slammed down their pins on the street. Yammer's peculiar black and white pin left a little dent in the pavement, due to the force of his tricked out shooter.

--

With two pins down, Neku was on the ropes with his last pin. Neku's last pin lunged towards Yammers, using the force of some psychs to boost its power. Yammer's pin took a dire hit, forcing it almost out of the playing area. With a grin on his face, the Reaper's pin looped around at twice the force to attack Neku's pin from behind, sending it flying.

With a wide grin, Yammer reclaimed his pin and laughed a bit. "Victory is mine!"  
He then grinned at the pin in his hand, smiling. _Finally got him, Shooter..._

Neku sighed and picked up his pin. _Oh man, he messed this thing up..._

Yammer laughed again and to Neku and Sho's surprise, let the wall down. "I never said you had to win!" he smiled widely, but then leaned closer to whisper to the two. "Jus' don't tell the Composer, ok?"

"Rest assured, we won't tell the Composer anything." Sho smiled back, "Though not compulsory, we're still going to try and crush the mission at hand."  
With that done and dusted, Sho waited until Neku got going before he followed, though turning back to Yammer and adding, "That pin you have there... that has a lot of value, doesn't it?"

Yammer put the pin back into his pocket and zipped it shut, still smiling. He nodded as he watched the pair leave.


	30. Historic Questions

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:**__Sho, Neku, Pence, Yodai.

-**Day 5**-

It was a relaxing stroll, save for the peak hour in the Scramble Crossing which added more to Sho's headache. His shoulder still didn't feel any better either. The two only had to deal with a wall Reaper or so before making it to Dogenzaka. As anticipated, Ramen Don was closed, and Pence just arrived to see the sign.  
"What? It's closed? Pence won't hear us outside." Sho mumbled, recently remembering some of the game's rules.

This was unusual for Yodai. The store was always open, even if Yodai was unwell. This caused suspicion and strengthened Sho's hunch. _At least we might not have to look far..._  
Ignoring Pence, Neku turned to Sho with a serious look. "Forget Pence. We should be nearing the Canor."

"And take another stab in the dark?" Sho said hesitantly, "Besides, there's always the Player Pin."  
And with that, he activated its unique psych and took a look in Pence's head.

_So Ramen Don's closed today... makes sense, I thought I saw Yodai in A-East on my way here..._

"...Anything?" Neku asked curiously.

Once done, Sho stopped scanning and pegged the pin back onto his cap. "Oh, I don't know..." he smirked, pretending to play dumb, "Next hunch is on a dark, abandoned stage, I guess."

Neku looked unimpressed. He knew Sho well enough to see through his act. "How far is that from here?"

"You're loaded with questions today, huh? Got anything else?" Sho grunted, "What I mean to say is... let's try A-East."

"You're a teacher, you're meant to be used to questions." Neku replied. He took a moment to remember how to get to A-East from here.

_Hrm... We have heaps of time left too..._

_Neku's grilling me today, was it something I said last night?_ he thought.  
Without saying anything else, or dignify his partner's answer, Sho started making his way up the street of Dogenzaka. He paused, turned around just to see if his partner was keeping up.

Neku was taking in the surroundings. They were the same as always, but something felt different. Or maybe he was looking at them from a different way. Trying not to get carried away, he made sure to keep up with Sho.

Sho smiled when Neku caught up. "Sorry about before. Are you grilling me for questions, Phones? Not long, just going to check out that abandoned shed." he said without thinking, "How much longer on the timer?"

Neku had his hands in his pockets, still getting sidetracked by the urban scenery. He took his hand out of his pocket and checked the timer. "Hour and a half."

"..." to be honest, Sho didn't know how to justify the heaps of time they had with them. Overhead, however, rain clouds have came in low, meaning that today there will be rain. "...Doesn't look good, better take shelter..."  
The math teacher walked casually to the concert stage, which had been left alone for such a long time now. He heard a low groan, as if the only other occupant had a nasty migraine. This was followed by food cooking on... something warm and toasty, but somehow he knew that wasn't entirely the case.

A little paranoid of the dark, Neku looked around to see if he could make out any objects in the darkness, but to no avail. "...What was that...?" he asked with a tone of uncertainty.

The same unusual groan got Sho to flinch; yep, he knew his long time friend can often bring an ounce of fear to surface like an unwanted yoctogram. But this is a different story, here and now. "Stay close now Phones. This doesn't sound good..."

It was a blurry, blood red haze in the cook's vision.  
_Ah... more fresh meat to supplement my diet. I grow tired of crushing the Noise... No... wait... they're...?_

There was that small wave of pain coursing through his spine again.

"_To... to right the countless wrongs of our days... we shine this light of true redemption..._"

Sho froze, hearing that familiar voice, creating several chills to course through his nervous system.

Neku could feel same spine-tingling feeling. That was Yodai, there was no doubt about it. He had second thoughts about the whole idea momentarily, but his will to help Yodai was strong enough to force him through. He did owe it to Yodai for lending him a job, after all.  
With Sho temporarily out-of-it, Neku cautiously advanced into the darkness. "..M-Mr. Higashizawa...?" he called out hesitantly.

"_...That this place will become as paradise... what a wonderful world such would be..._" Not entirely visible, Yodai was staring straight at the shed's only exit, his gaze unfocused.

Quick to snap out of it, Sho realized that the chef had a different appearance on him. He gulped, before taking his Player Pin again. "I'm going to try and scan him. He might attack, even if he can't hit us the Noise itself could..." he said in an uneasy tone, "Step back a bit, Neku..."  
Right on cue, it began raining outside.

Neku froze still where he was on Sho's call. The eyes were growing larger as the sound of muted hooves approached from the darkness. Neku backed off slowly as the figure became barely visible, but still distinguishable. "This isn't good..."

"Zetta duh!" Sho flinched, taking a step back, awed by the huge size difference, "It's too big to handle as a double. I'll take the upper plane! Like usual, try keeping the Light Puck in play."  
The Ovis Canor, now fully possessing Yodai, lifted a megaton fist. Just as Sho was about to vanish into the other plane, he shoved Neku out of the way in time, the fist kicking up the dust and derbies.  
With the crack of the lightning outside, the battle against the Ovis Canor had just begun.


	31. Ovis Canor

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:**__Neku, Sho, Yodai, Joshua, Pence.

-**Day 5**-

It was a terrible sight. Neku had seen his share of Noise, but none like this, and none have possessed someone who he respects so much. The darkness made combat near impossible if it weren't for the demonic red glow of the Ovis Canor's eyes and the Light Puck's luminance. It laid down some heavy swings while making an eerie sort of cry. Dodging and keeping the Light Puck in play were Neku's primary objectives, however this cannot last forever.  
The noise of the rain seemed to amplify on the old roof, a crack of lightning lit up the stage briefly enough to get a good look of the Canor. Neku kept light on his feet, trying to keep aware of his surroundings. _This is bad..._

_I'll pound you!_  
Anonymous voices ran through Sho's head every time the Ovis Canor was about to attack. It lifted a fist, and brought it down hard, but with hardly enough room to move, Sho successfully blocked it instead. It was dark as hell in here, save for the Light Puck and the occasional lightning.  
The Grim Heaper teleported into the air again, trying to activate the resulting psych. Just as he did however, nothing happened. The Oivis Canor was sucking it up, and the lightning revealing why this happened got Sho's blood to turn ice cold. Panic began to rise as he was wondering how Neku was doing.

"There must be a way around this!" Neku thought aloud, still barely keeping up with dodging. The Canor cried out and took another swing, landing a direct hit on Neku, who could not dodge in time. Neku winced as the wind was knocked out of him. He staggered back to his feet, holding where the Canor had hit. "We have to do something quick!" he yelled out to Sho.

Nothing. No response, the teacher was frozen in fear.  
However, he snapped out of it as he heard Neku's voice again. "I... I don't know..." he weakly replied, fearing loneliness was just around the corner.  
_How could you be so zetta stupid? You're nothing! No better than the average Radian that strut the streets and that's it! You deserve nothing, nothing but infinite loneliness! Nothing! NOTHING!!!_  
"Shut up!" the teacher roared at the voice inside his head, which got the Canor to turn its attention away from Neku. And as it did, Sho took a lunge at the Noise, ready for close combat, unaware of the throbbing pain in his chest.

A crack of lightning roared nearby, illuminating the room enough for Neku to catch a glimpse of the Canor's back turned on him. Neku took the opportunity to throw a barrage of psychs at the Canor to hopefully gain his attention again. "It's coming your way!" he shouted again, a little worried about his partner.

For reasons unknown, black rage took a hold of Sho again as he lashed out at the Canor, not giving it much of a chance to retaliate properly. That, however, gave way to a blind spot in his vision. The Canor saw this and launched a mach punch on Sho, causing him to land in a tangle of wires. For a few minutes he was out cold, trapped in a nightmare of the past.

No response from his partner and the disappearance of the Light Puck caused Neku to panic a little. Without visibility there was no telling what had happened. The rain didn't seem to want to cease either, making communication difficult too. Taking a stab in the dark, Neku threw another volley of psychs where he landed a hit on the Canor before, in the hopes to land another hit. "Sho...!! Where are you?" he called out, getting a little desperate.

The Ovis Canor felt Neku's attempt for attention. Having no luck finding Sho, it turned, leering its glowing red eyes on the younger player. With a silent scream, it summoned the lightening to lash out and strike Neku when possible.

Hard drumming rain was the first thing Sho managed to hear as he came around again, followed by a pained cry from his partner. His eyes snapped open to be met with eerie darkness, but as his vision had adjusted, he could see the Canor's back was turned on him.  
_Neku's in trouble! On your feet, Pi-Face!_

Neku struggled to his feet, having a hard time finding his balance, let alone focusing on avoiding another attack, which the Ovis Canor was about to throw at Neku. "I... I'm at my end here..." he mumbled weakly, still in pain.

There had been a huge difference in how he felt earlier and what he felt now. Like Neku, Sho felt drained of his willpower, but that didn't stop his fear of loneliness. The fear alone was enough to spur him into action again.  
In great pain, he slowly got to his feet again, paying no mind to the shift of power within him.

Neku made another attempt to stabilise his balance, as his call goes unheard. The Canor lets out a cry, as if it were making the final blow. Neku braced himself out of pure instinct, even though his mind was fully aware of his inevitable erasure.  
The Canor's cry turned into an eerie shriek followed by a loud thud which causes the ground to tremble for a moment. A loud crack of lightning reveals the Canor fallen to the ground, leaving Neku in disbelief. He could hear it climbing back onto its feet while groaning in pain. Another thud, a crack and what Neku could only recognise as some violent slashes caused the Canor to cry out for the last time as it faded into erasure. Its haunting cry seemed to echo in Neku's head as he tried to visualise what had been the cause of its erasure.  
_What... What just happened...?  
_Neku shook his head. "Sho?" he shouted out anxiously. He called out again after no reply. His pain was replaced with worry. Sho was nowhere to be found, but he can't have been erased. Neku wandered around in the darkness, finding nothing. He fell to the ground in pain, holding his chest. The Canor dealt a dire hit. Neku gritted his teeth and climbed to his feet again, using some nearby equipment to help pull himself up. _  
_Another crack of lightning took Neku by surprise. He swung around to try to catch a glimpse of his partner, but was instead confronted with the feint glow of two red eyes and a glint of silver in a shape that he could have sworn were claws. In less than a second, the vision had disappeared into the darkness.  
Without any other option, Neku felt around for the exit as quick as he could. The cold rain fell down mercilessly on him the moment he stepped out. He looked around frantically for any sign of Sho, his vision blurred from the rain.

Joshua just recently got the Composer's message to find Pence and make a dash for A-East. It was pouring hard as he and Pence ran in the rain. Part of the message said that an energy spike, most likely from the past, took a hold of Sho. As a result, Taboo Noise were drawn to it and powered the spike up, or so it would have said, resulting a possible collateral damage in the RG.  
Never mind that. Joshua was very weary of Neku's presence as he dashed inside. But it was Sho's current absence that sank his heart.  
_What happened?_ the teen wondered. Josh and Pence didn't have to search for long, as they found Yodai unconscious and sprawled out on the ground. _Now this IS a huge mess!_

"Sho...?" Neku called out again quietly, his voice muted by the rain. He trembled a little. He was in a helpless state and Sho was missing in action. Neku walked forward as the rain slowed him down, continuing to call out for his partner.


	32. Secrets Exposed

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:**Sho, Neku.

-**Day 5**-

Apparently, it took little effort to reject the Taboo Noise that somehow found their way to him. His whole body ached, having to force his way out a different exit from the long abandoned stage. Sho didn't quite understand what took hold of him, but he wasn't going to let Neku know that his appearance had changed in the process.  
His weary gaze scanned the streets in search of his partner, loneliness nagging in the back of his mind, causing his heart to race. He felt somewhat numb as he took a cautious step forward, and almost lost balance. As Sho stopped himself, using the wall as support, he caught the sight of a familiar figure struggling in the rain. He stumbled, and made his way to the silhouette.

The rain, pain and fatigue took its toll on Neku, forcing him to scramble to cover underneath a bus stop, or face collapsing. He rubbed his eyes so he could focus again, but the rain was still too thick to see through, even underneath shelter.

Sho kept glancing around, thankful his cap was keeping a lot of water from invading his vision, but it still wasn't enough to stop fatigue from getting the better of him. He felt like collapsing, going to sleep and never waking up again. That desire had been removed as loud thunder crashed behind him, snapping him wide awake. He quickly looked around.  
And there he managed to make out the figure in the bus stop, desperately looking out for his partner. With newfound strength, Sho make his way back to Neku.

Cold and tired, Neku had been huddling in the bus stop until he saw the figure emerge out of the rain. "Sho...?" he said softly to himself. His worries vanished in an instant after recognising Sho approaching him. Without any second thought, Neku had gotten up from his shelter and slowly met up with Sho in the rain.  
He thought about hugging his partner out of relief, but decided against. This wasn't a good spot to stand, and it would leave an awkward feeling deep down, something he didn't want.

It was a slight surprise for the teacher as Neku came towards him. In spite of the condition, the weather and the torment moments before, never had he felt the pressure lift itself off his shoulders fast and effectively. Sho smiled weakly, and spoke almost in a tired tone as the teen got close.  
"H-hey Neku... sorry I made you wait alone..."

Neku said nothing, smiling in return. The rain was beginning to subside, a ray of light shining through persistently in the distance.

Sho grew weary of the condition Neku was in, having to deal dire blows from the Ovis Canor. "C'mon, let's find a place to sit down comfortably, then we'll talk. Sure you can walk fine?"

Neku had been so preoccupied with finding Sho that the pain was the last thing on his mind; however having it mentioned brought it back up. He cringed a little. "...I'll be fine."

A moment. That's all it took for Sho as he wearily studied his partner. "Certain of that?"  
Without earning an answer, he stood by Neku, wanting to be close to him if something else happened, never mind the pain he sustained himself. "I'll stay by your side... anyway, the mission is cleared. We could have had the day off... completing it just shows how zetta selfless we are. Right?"

Neku shrugged. "I guess so."  
They both made their way to a nearby bench, defaced by tags and graft, giving it some character. Sho had been keeping a worried eye on Neku until the moment they sat down and relaxed. "Did you know it was going to be Yodai?" Neku asked out of the blue.

The question took Sho off guard, but he wasn't surprised. He didn't know how to answer, unless he could start talking about decoding the myth.  
"It took time," the math teacher started, "I was simply trying to complete the equation... I mean, one way or another, the past has some influence here and there, especially on us. The word 'Ovis' sounds zetta familiar, and the one other time I heard the word was the way to describe Yodai's Noise form... Yodai Higashizawa from the past, of course. The Canor so happens to be a remnant of the past, the only thing left from the Ovis Cantus itself. If you let yourself go and think for a while, it will all add up, eventually."

Neku crossed his arms and nodded. _I felt the same thing when fighting it..._  
He took a moment to think about the last battle. It was nothing like he had expected, or could have planned for. He was lucky to have escaped with these wounds. No other Players would have been a match for the Canor, and it's grim to think of the fate of those who had tried before Neku and Sho turned up.  
The battle only threw more questions that needed to be answered, and Neku had a feeling that Sho could help. "I would have been erased by the Canor if it hadn't had been for this Noise..." Neku trailed off, leaving out as much detail to see if Sho already knew about the subject.

Now Sho looked up, that was a different subject to tackle. "This Noise, huh? I was out cold, remember?"  
He knew what Neku meant, for a part of him had some self control during the metamorphosis. How he became a Noise himself, he didn't know. Once more, this historic missing link still needed time to decode.  
"Whatever that Noise was, you're zetta thankful it showed up, aren't you? Because, I was out and... I probably would never forgive myself if you were gone for good, Neku." Sho sighed, and looked at the ground again.

Neku looked at the ground as if he had wanted to say something, but was hesitant to say it. "Uh..." he stopped himself from continuing. After a moment of thought, he appeared to have gained some more confidence. "Thanks for helping me, Sho..." He hesitated and looked up into the clearing rain.  
"Ever since... My parents left, things got tough..." he paused again, getting a bit upset, "They left when I was nine. My Aunt took me in. I didn't mind, and she didn't either... and then... I started to fail things. I was losing hope and my Aunt just... gave up. I've been expelled at least 3 times now, I can't hold a job, my parents never came back... and now this." He stopped himself again, avoiding eye contact to hide his upset eyes. "Life was hopeless..." he trailed off.

_This is new. No, this is so zetta new. No, zetta unexpected, out of the blue. Again. So that's what Phones was ashamed of admitting all along?_  
Sho didn't know how to respond. His heart sank. Always, he always had trouble reading emotions, even his own, but this time he knew how he felt. He knew the hardship of life as an adolescent, and he understood what Neku was going through. Words failed everything, so he responded with the only way he could go for at present. He gently placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, hoping it could give a bit of reassurance.

Neku sighed a little. That little bit of reassurance was all he needed. He accepted the comfort for the first in a long time. "T-thanks Sho..." he mumbled, still looking away at the ground.

"It's alright," Sho replied quietly, "But you know... Mori taught me a thing or two. There's no shame in shedding tears..." he shifted a little closer, not too close as to violate personal space. He could see Neku needed a bit of time out. Still, he felt comfortable sharing the few tricks up his sleeve on how to deal with life overall.  
"I had trouble grieving the loss of my old man, and I bottled up my feelings. I refused to cry, thinking it was a sign of weakness. But Mori told me; 'Don't hold onto anything that will bring you harm. It's ok to let it all out'."

Neku tensed up a little, trying to hold back the tears. "...I'm not crying."

Sho sensed this, and took his hand away. "I see you need some time alone... But I am offering a shoulder to cry on. It's ok to let it all out."  
And with that, he moved away, sitting on the other side of the bench to give the teen the much needed space.

Neku rubbed his eyes. The tears began to fall against his efforts to hold them back. All those suppressed tears have finally decided to fall. But why now when he couldn't cry when he needed to cry? Neku clenched his hands, trying to make sense of it all.

_Keep it to yourself, Pi-Face. Keep it to yourself, keep it to yourself or so zetta help me..._  
Sho was looking at the RG scenery, eventually missing life. Just then, he heard a quiet sniffle from Neku, who was sitting on the other end of the bench. And as usual, Sho couldn't help but grow concerned. "...You alright, Phones?" he asked, mentally kicking himself for getting involved yet again.

Neku rubbed his eyes again, hoping to reply with a 'Yes', but all that managed to come out was a blurted whining. He turned away almost completely from Sho to hide the tears that just didn't seem to stop.

_...Zetta brilliant, Pi-Face!_  
Sho turned away, knowing he pushed the wrong button. He allowed to let his mind wonder off into his miserable life, and was thankful he didn't commit suicide. "Sorry... shouldn't have asked..."

"N-no, it's not your fault." Neku managed to say.  
"...I'm just glad you're here..." he mumbled after managing to settle down a little.

"Alright... just zetta concerned, so you know. But..." Sho paused, smiling a bit as he did before looking back at Neku, "I think you're not a bad kid. Stupid 000s just keep on judging, a lot of talking, never listening. That's their opinion. As for my opinion... you're a good kid with a lot of potential and great imagination. I've seen your drawings on the paper you work on. I don't know what... can hardly remember... but it is Top Arts worthy if I had a chance at pitching in my say." he ended with a tone of sincerity.

Neku slowly stopped crying. He turned around and looked up at Sho for a moment. "T-thanks..." he snivelled as he rubbed his eyes on his arm.

"No problem..." Sho smiled a bit and sighed, looking away again, "If you need anything, anything at all, holler out. I'll be there, I promise... alright?"  
For a while, awkward silence, save for the noisy citizens of the RG, loomed between the two. Sho looked away, letting himself drift into mixed memories, both familiar and new. Until he felt a warm presence around his left arm and shoulder, but he didn't need to look. Neku decided to seek comfort on his own accord, a sign that there was definite trust between them.

It was a strange feeling. The sadness was gradually lifting, just as the rain had been clearing. Neku said nothing more, but just sat there, comforted by Sho's presence as he silently reassessed his life.

The pain eased off, except in his wounded shoulder, fatigue was catching up. And yet he felt warm and fuzzy, despite the fact he was dead.  
Sho continued to comfort Neku as best he could, but before he closed his eyes, he spotted an engraftment on the bench.  
_Freedom is the freedom to say 2+2=4. But 1x1 will always equal 1._

The day was soon coming to an end, however time was irrelevant to the two at the moment. A small sign of hope had been realised in Neku.


	33. Point Blank Suicide

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
Warning; Extreme OOC act on Joshua's part! Why? Because he isn't Composer, he's mortal. He has no Jesus Beams with him. And being mortal means being more human!  
Also, more Yammer Time! (Yays~)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Joshua, Yammer. (Neku and Sho, but they're irrelevant in this Chapter.)

Joshua sat on the chair next to Neku's bed, the heartbeat going at a steady pace. It was unbelievable that before anyone had found the bodies that the silver haired teen was forced to kill against his wishes, the headshots were removed, courtesy of the Composer. He sat there in silence and lost in deep thought. Whatever the reason, he knew that Neku will _never _forgive him.  
Standing behind Joshua was the unpredictable Reaper Yammer. Permanently dead for some time now, he is unseen, unheard and untouchable by everyone but the grieving teen.

Yammer stood there with crossed arms and a concerned look on his face. "Rough..."

Joshua tucked an annoying strand of hair behind his ear, still looking at the unmoving teen. "It was either this, or eternal loneliness... and lose the ability of observing the UG..."

Yammer quirked a brow. He wasn't hesitant to confront Joshua to some extent. "You sold out, huh?" he stated, more so then he asked.  
He unfolded his arms to be more sympathetic. "...I know Neku. It'd take time, but he'd understand."

"I know..." Joshua looked back at Yammer, somewhat upset, "From the get-go... he had a right to never trust me. But if I come clean and tell the truth..." he trailed off and went back staring at Neku with a grieving heart.  
"I'll never be able to see or talk to you, folks will forget me, and they'll never accept me... I can't explain, but it... hurts so much to think about it..."

Yammer shrugged, "They'll come around. Once the truth is out." He crossed his arms again and surveyed the hospital scene.  
_Give yourself _some_ credit, kid..._

Joshua continued to hold a nasty streak of silence, observing something unusual. Tears were flowing from Neku, even while his eyes were closed. Definitely unusual.  
He decided to change the subject, a common tactic if suspicion was getting in the way. "Neku and Sho turned up at WildKat last night." Josh started quietly.

Yammer raised his brow again, his attention now focusing outside the small window. "Yeah? Something happen?" he asked.

"Got away from Neku, wasn't so lucky with Sho. I thought he'd try choking me again, instead he demanded to get the bullet out. The kitchen isn't a very clean place... at least Sanae forgave me because I _was_ bullied to help Sho; he threatened to get Neku involved." Joshua paused, just to wipe a tear from Neku's cheek as to distract himself, giving him time to think, "The whole ordeal bothers me. A lot. But... Sho said something that got me thinking... he said I wasn't very different after all. I wonder what he meant."  
Joshua got up from the chair that sat by Neku's bed and looked past Yammer to see the teen's neighbour, his math teacher, Sho. He too was sleeping peacefully in an unconscious state. "And to think... Neku kept pushing Sho away, but also drew him in over time. They were so close... always trying to watch each other's back... No surprise that they became partners in the Reaper's Game."

Yammer acknowledged Josh's grief with a nod. _They do seem like they've been through a lot... At least since the last time I saw 'em._  
Concerned, Yammer attempted to distract Josh a little. "So what are we doing here anyway?"

Joshua tucked another strand of hair behind his ear. "Told by the Composer to check up on their RG versions. You didn't have to come along. Earlier today, I heard that an Ovis Canor violated the rules and took hold of a shop keeper. I got Pence to come along, but when we got there, all we came across was Yodai in a coma. We got him back to the shop. I swore... I thought I saw the Leo Cantus taking a different exit. No doubt that was Sho. An energy spike found him, and not a moment too late, or Neku would have been erased..."  
The grief was getting to the teen's head. He sighed, "C'mon, let's get out of here before I come up with crazy ideas to rebel against the Composer. It's depressing enough as it is."

Yammer nodded again and followed Joshua's lead as they left the room. He took one look behind him. _They're lucky they've managed this far... But it's only a matter of time now._  
He kept up with Joshua, getting a good look of the hospital and paying particular attention to the occasional nurse. "...So where are we going now?"

Joshua kept watching his shoes propelling him along the floor, which suddenly became fascinating. "I'm going to the Udagawa Sushi Bar. You're welcome to come along, if you wish." he replied quietly.

Yammer checked his phone quickly. "...Well the game _is_ over for the day." He shrugged. "Sure, I guess I'll tag along then."

Still looking at the passing floor, Joshua's smile was small, a sign of appreciation. "Thanks Yammer."  
It was night outside as they left the hospital, taking the time to make their way to Udagawa back streets. Joshua continued to keep to himself, often letting his mind wander back to the day he shot them. They were close, just couldn't acknowledge that to each other before the last minute. Now that he thought about it, there was no mistake that the math teacher has shed tears moments before Joshua pulled the trigger again. He was, after all, the Composer's second choice if Sho became an eye witness.

Yammer had his hands in his pockets as he tagged behind Josh. He left Joshua with his thoughts until they were close. "You did what you had to do."  
Yammer stopped and looked at the building they had just passed. "Isn't this it?"

Joshua paused on the Reaper's question. "Yeah... it is." he answered quietly, digging a hand in his pocket and gave Yammer a decent amount of yen. "I need time to think alone. Until then, I don't think I want to eat right now." Josh said, "I won't be long..."

Yammer forced a grin, but rejected the money. "It's alright, I got this one." he watched Josh walk off. "Real rough..." he mumbled to himself before casually walking inside the sushi bar.

There was hardly any light around the back street CAT Mural, as Joshua walked around aimlessly, trying to clear his head. True, he did what he was told, and it was quite understandable that history, whatever that meant to Josh, had been plaguing the two. But was it necessary to kill them, just as they were resolving the problems? Can they never study history in the RG?  
Joshua closed his eyes, unidentifiable images coming and going, until he rested his hand on the wall. Then, and only then, did new images flourished in his mind. All familiar, old and new. And heart warming in a sense. Joshua sighed, and then smiled. Things will work out in the end, all he had to do was tough it out. _Just tough it out..._

Suddenly, running footsteps broke out in the quiet night. Josh opened his eyes, those happy feelings vanished once he met near darkness. A hand reached out and in one clean motion, the gun Josh had in his pocket was snatched from him. He tried calling out, but his words got trapped in his throat, as the dim light revealed an individual, someone who could not be properly identified. The silhouette held Josh's gun to his own head.  
And pulled the trigger.  
A bang rolled back and forth. Joshua's blood turned to ice as he realised what had happened. The silhouette committed suicide with his gun.

Yammer's head perked up at the crack of a gun. There was no denying it, he knew what he heard. He sighed a little and put his head down again, finishing the drink which sat beside him. "Hrm..."

"Yeah... he committed suicide..."  
Josh trembled as he called the ambulance. If they find finger prints on his gun, or the round that matched, he was definitely screwed. And then realization hit him like a sledge hammer between the eyes. The Composer would not step in and save him this time. This time, Yoshiya Kiryu was truly busted, and he knew he would not retrieve the round in time. Sirens from Shibu-Q Heads had already begun to wail.  
If Shibuya's Composer won't save him, that was his green light for betrayal. Joshua ignored his phone that began to ring as he put it back into his pocket. He got up, looked the body over and found the gun, and proceeded to stomp on it until it broke into unrecognizable pieces. He then sprinted back to the sushi bar to meet up with Yammer, if he was still there.

Joshua joined up with Yammer in a worrying state. Instinct told Yammer that the crack of the gun and Josh are both involved. "...You ok?" he asked with concern.

Losing all common sense, and no longer holding himself back, Joshua hugged Yammer tightly, and sobbing. The tears would not stop. "H-he... committed suicide... took my gun..."  
This went on for a while until Joshua calmed down a bit and composed himself. "This has to end..." he sniffed, "This has gone too far, I... can't take it anymore..."

Surprised about the sudden outburst, Yammer played along with it, offering what little support Josh found in him. "Easy, Josh... Don't go doing anything drastic, now." he said quietly. "Just take it easy now. You can think things through later." he added, offering a smile.

"I've had enough! Don't you understand!?" Josh shouted, insulted from Yammer's ignorance and took a step back, "The Composer won't save me. The suicide stranger snatched my gun and took his own life. I don't have the time to recover the round, and the police have been watching me lately. They'll find the links to it all, I'll be framed for something I _didn't_ do!! Fingerprints, the familiar bullet... and I'm sick of thinking things through again and again... I know what to do, which will cost me dearly... and it's driving me insane...!"  
Joshua kept pacing around in circles, messing his hair up and still crying somewhat. "I'll... never be able to see the UG ever again if I go ahead with this..."

Yammer leaned onto the counter, fiddling with his drink. "I-I know..." he hesitated. _...I can't lose another comrade to this game. Not again..._

As if he read Yammer's thoughts, Joshua paused a bit, trying not to make his sniffles sound so loud and obvious. "You, however can enter licensed shops, and visit the RG as you please... but it won't be the same..."

Yammer paused for a while, unsure how to answer in this sort of situation. He turned around in his seat to look at Josh. "There's gotta be a way you can avoid all this. You just need to think it through."

_Does he think I'm a broken record?_  
Silence, absolute silence followed. Joshua swallowed hard to ease the pain in his throat, "I'm _done_ thinking... thinking for the Composer, thinking for my enforced actions... thinking for everything but myself. The past means nothing to me... I'm sorry Yammer, but my mind's made up.  
"I... I'm going to find Neku and Sho and sort things out with them... tomorrow." he concluded boldly.

Yammer shot out of his seat and objected. He couldn't let him face the Composer. "Then start thinking for yourself! You know what will happen if you fight Him!" he shouted.

Joshua narrowed his violet eyes in response, "Never planned it that way... I'm in the RG. I can't confront Him myself. I know.  
"The Composer told me, that in my life prior to this one, _I_ was Shibuya's Composer. Back then, I thought that was a load of nonsense. I didn't accept it back then, but it's finally making sense now. He revived me because He thought I put up a good fight. The one torture that's worse than death itself is to suffer alive. And I _am_ suffering, suffering for consecutive kills, and it hurts inside. If I ignore orders now... no. I'm not repeating myself. It's in your head already." Joshua glanced up at Yammer fiercely.  
"Neku has great control over every psych possible, and is able to trigger much more from his partner. Sho in the past was a dangerous advisory, ambitious and even insane; he was after my position but failed whatever he did. Today, however, he has more self control, thanks to his lifetime of loneliness and grief. Put the two together, and you have a force to be reckoned with... now, I'm not the one fighting. I don't like sweating, and am alive and breathing. I won't be able to fight the Composer anyway." a pause, letting the city ambience hanging in the air, before Josh ended with; "But they can."

Yammer settled down a little and crossed his arms. "And what if they refuse? What if He figures out what you're trying to do?" he interrogated with concern.

"Neku might, but I have a hunch Sho will listen..." Joshua replied. He looked down at the ground, gaining a tone of lost hope.  
"Let the Composer find out for all I care... there's no point living if all you ever do is suffer. He said... said that this will be the last time He'd cover up the evidence, the fact that the police would not leave me alone. I've fought my own battles more than I let Him step in. But this... even for rediscovering history... this has gone too far. Besides... why do you care?"

Yammer stepped forward a little. "Can't lose another friend to this game..." he pleaded.

The very second Yammer explained his reason, those words managed, just managed to cancel Joshua's frustration. But it still didn't successfully change his mind. "When I do lose my ability..." the teen started, looking away, tears welling again, "Everyone I know and grew so close to throughout my life will forget me, even you. And when I try to rebuild those connections, the strong ones I work so hard to form, they'll reject me. They would not want to know me... I won't be able to see the UG. However... I'm prepared. I'm prepared to take the punishment, something I really don't deserve having in my life."  
He looked up again, "I'm going to miss you, but you won't remember that..."

Yammer sighed a little, looking away. "Maybe this is the change you need... Forget the past and move on..."

Joshua didn't answer, his gaze now fixed on the ground. He heaved a sigh, before wiping away the tears.

Yammer walked over and stood beside Josh. He put his hand around his shoulder and put on a grin. "Don't worry, don't worry!" he said cheerily.

"I'm not worried," Josh replied in a tired tone, "I don't know how I feel at this moment... But thank you... for everything today."

Yammer removed his hand and the grin eased off his face. "Just take it easy, alright?" he said with grave concern. _Don't go getting erased now..._

Josh began to walk off into the dark backstreets, sure to avoid the sirens echoing in the distance. But he didn't vanish completely without turning to look back at Yammer, a small smile on his face, in spite of the damp tear's remains. "Likewise, and thanks. I have a huge day tomorrow and need decent rest to make it all work."  
And with that, he put on his trademark smirk, flicked the hair out of his eyes, and turned off to face the dark path ahead of him.


	34. Hope for Breakfast

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku.

-**Day 6**-

Honks were louder, the pollution was thick... and the _noisy Noise_s were _more vicious_ than average...  
However, that didn't bother the teacher who was lying on his left just to save him from breaking the stitches on the ground. Neku was close to him, enough to warm his heart up as he came around to meet the morning of Day 6. Sho slowly opened his eyes and smiled softly, he didn't care what was in store today, at least he and Neku were on even terms now. He didn't bother getting off the ground as he closed his eyes to rest just a little more.

Neku began to stir. Memories of the night before seemed to linger in his head, as he must have fallen asleep without realising he had done so. He opened his eyes a little, somewhat disoriented. With Sho seemingly still asleep beside him, he carefully moved away, trying not to bother Sho. He rubbed his eyes and took a look around. _Where are we now..?_

Sho turned onto his other side in his 'sleep', mindful not to destroy the stitches. Soon, he opened his eyes again to get an idea where he was.  
Today, the pair were starting at Cadoi City, with a Reaper blocking Towa Records and no one guarding Shibu Department Store. The wall to Molco, however, was already down.

Something felt different about Neku today. A shed of optimism was growing in his mind, but at the same time anxiety for the challenges yet to come remain. If he was almost erased yesterday, then what's to say today will be any easier?  
Neku looked over at Sho. "...You awake yet?" he asked quietly, just in case he was not awake.

A soft chuckle, ruined by a yawn was Sho's answer before he sat up. "Someone's got an optimistic attitude this morning," he greeted, "And that's a good thing. Eh... what day is it today?"

Neku couldn't help but to yawn too. He scratched his arms awkwardly. "U-uh, its Day 6, right?" he paused to stretch. "Not really sure where we are though..."

"Is it because you never been through here, or you never read the signs?" Sho asked casually, waiting for the Mission to arrive, "I thought you explore Shibuya a lot."

Neku hesitated a little. "I don't think I've been to _this_ part before..."

"Anyway... we're at Cadoi City, the shop has Natural Puppy, which is zetta unnerving in its own sense of names and fashion..." Sho replied casually followed by a yawn.

"...Oh yeah," Neku said as if he knew the place. He crossed his arms, "... Be on your guard today." he added with a serious look on his face.  
_I have a bad feeling about today..._

Sho took a look at Neku and nodded solemnly, "You have rights to be suspicious..."

--

Half an hour later with crowd gazing and very little to no conversation every minute, the mobile phones gave a beep of an incoming message. "Ah, the Mission's here." the teacher acknowledged while getting his phone out.

_Erase the Noise in Spain Hill.  
No time limit. Fail,  
and Face Erasure.  
Note: The Moon is round  
and full today. Be on the  
lookout for Grunge Wolves,  
Death Metal Minks, and  
Wall of Grizzlies. They will  
not attack, however, and  
will blend in with the average  
Noise. Proceed with caution,  
for they are empowered for the day._

_~The Reapers_

Neku checked his phone the moment he heard the beep. He took a moment to read. His suspicion rose. "If they didn't give us a time limit... How tough can they be...?"

Sho was too busy looking through the Noise list, just so he could remind himself again what the names belong to. He frowned once he found out.  
"Neku, those are Taboo Noise we're dealing with. Read again carefully and do the math. This will be hard..."

"Great..." he trailed off.  
Neku sighed a little. "Well, we have the whole day to do this. We should prepare a little." he suggested.  
He was hesitant to fight the Noise. No doubt they would attack the two in packs, and there must be a decent amount of them if they were given the whole day. Today would certainly test their endurance and skills, if they could make it that far.

"Prepare? Great idea. Let's start with some food..." Sho yawned again, trying not to stretch the stitches and puts the phone back into his pocket. "Zetta useless working on an empty stomach."

Neku shrugged. Normally he would object to the idea, but it seemed like a smart thing to do. Besides, he hadn't eaten for a while too. "Couldn't hurt." Neku took a few steps around and stretched again. "Know any good places?"

"I recall seeing a Sunshine takeaway in Molco, and then there's the Mexican Hotdog in Spain Hill... but that's where the Mission is..." Sho groaned a bit, knowing it will be unhealthy food again for breakfast. _Then again, we didn't eat yesterday..._  
"Everything else is off limits, otherwise..."

"Food's food. We shouldn't waste much time either." Neku waited for Sho to get up before they both headed over Molco way. Fortunately, Molco wasn't far off.

--

_Man I'm starved..._  
Sho quietly followed Neku, often looking around and carefully observing the scenery. It was peak hour as the living rushed by to reach their destination. What took the math teacher's interest was someone in the Phone Booth of Love. Apparently, he heard the rumours, but decided against giving it a shot.  
Not a minute longer, and the pair were at Molco.

It didn't take long to find the food joint. Licensed or not, Neku wandered in regardless, taking a good look around. It was surprisingly popular in here, and the staffs were working off their feet. Neku stood still to take a look at the menu board.  
A small grin lined Neku's face. _Haven't had junk like this for a while..._ The decision between a double beef burger or a double chicken burger was tougher than once believed to be.

Sho took note of the decal. _Zetta fortunate... I can't stand another minute without food!_  
He read through the menu twice, before making his decision for some Minestrone and Orange Juice. _No way, not in your vector will I eat rubbish in the morning!_

Neku approached the counter and ordered the Double Beef Burger Meal. _This has got to be the worst breakfast I'll ever eat._  
He looked over at Sho. "Decided yet?" he asked.

Sho got the appropriate yen out and ordered his choice. He acknowledged Neku's question with a slight nod before paying and taking a seat to eat.

After a short wait, Neku took his food with a bit of a grin, payed and sat down next to Sho.

--

_Ahh... That hit the spot!_  
With a satisfied look on his face, the minestrone cup empty and the orange juice half consumed, Sho decided to enjoy the full stomach while he can. Soon, however, the pair will need to move on and crunch the Mission.

As hard as he tried, Neku couldn't manage to eat the whole meal. _Glad that's out of the way..._  
He took a moment to let the food settle. "...We should probably attack that Mission soon."

That optimistic tone in Neku's voice snared Sho's interest. He looked over at the younger Player, quirking an eyebrow.  
"Ok, who are you and what have you done with the real Neku?" he asked playfully.

Neku looked up at Sho the moment the rhetorical question was asked, chuckling somewhat, knowing that the teacher was joking around, again. "I'm the real deal, right here." he replied cheerfully with an added playful nudge.  
He scratched his arm and got up. "...Yeaaah." He yawned a bit and crossed his arms. "Let's hurry up and clear out the Noise."

"Let's." Sho offered his simply reply in return, his easiness leaving him like vapour.  
He got up, took the rubbish and deposited that in the bin. Moments later, he was ready to go. "1 other thing Phones; in case we do run into the Taboo Noise while fighting, it would be unwise to chain battles. Slow and steady will win the day. Zetta slow as it is, it's better than encountering a moon fuelled Grunge Wolf in round 6, especially when we're exhausted."

Neku nodded. "Good idea."  
Once they were set, the two left on their way, in no particular rush. Neku had his pins out, studying and reassessing his battle plan. _Hrm... I need a recovery pin or two in the mix..._

Surely there was something about Neku that greatly changed from yesterday, especially when the confessions came forth and changed each other for better or worse. Still, the pain that had been sustained yesterday simply eased overnight.  
And that deserved a question.  
"How are you feeling from yesterday, Phones? Still aching a bit?" Sho asked, hoping to gain some background knowledge for the approaching battles.

Neku's trail of thought was disturbed by the question. He looked up at Sho. "Huh?" he blurted out his answer once he realised what Sho had asked. "Oh, fine."

"No aches from yesterday?" Sho inquired, still slightly unsure of their somewhat healthy state.

The teen shrugged in return. He himself was unsure. As they neared their destination, Neku finalized his pin selection. "You ready?" he asked.

"More than those Radians will ever be," Sho growled, ready to face the Noise, "But no chaining. Take them on 1 at a time. Be on the lookout for the Taboo Noise..."  
He tensed, ready to crunch the numbers.


	35. RG Conflict

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
IMPORTANT! Eri has been renamed Ayaka, and was the one who provided 'the Shiki reference' in Chapter 24, 'Let Me In'. No, she isn't like either Shiki or Eri, but she and Neku go to the same school, and have been shy on meeting eachother. To Neku, it was 'forget one day, remember the next'.  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Neku, Sho, Neku's Aunt, Eri (Known as Ayaka), Joshua.

-**Day 6**-

Neku nodded again, beginning to take a defensive stance. He took a brief scan of the area, and to his surprise, found Noise symbols scattered in every direction, along with a large amount concentrated around the hospitals' direction. He ceased scanning, warning Sho with some distress. "This doesn't look so good..."

Sho carefully looked around, agreeing with Neku's doubt. "Procrastination isn't a digit you want in your equation. Think positive, and I'm sure we'll make it through." he advised cautiously.  
Once the pair designated a Noise on its own, they were soon face to face with two Jungle Boomers, a Carcinofolk and, as predicted, a Death Metal Mink. And the lone Taboo Noise itself looked treacherous.

Neku kept his guard up, somewhat intimidated by the group of Noise. "...S-should we leave the Mink to last?" he asked Sho without taking his focus off of the Noise.

Personally, Sho agreed with Neku, with half of his attention focused on calculating. "This looks like it requires the double plane. Don't touch it unless you have the Light Puck." he advised before vanishing, "But call me if you have trouble!"

Neku nodded uncertainly. As Sho vanished, he singled out the Boomers. They were quick enough to be a pain, and packed a strong punch. _Take out the Boomers, fight the Carcinofolk... Then take on the Mink..._  
The Boomers bounded straight towards Neku, one leaping into the sky above. Neku prepared to execute a long ranged psych to the Boomer coming towards him, then ran out of the way to dodge the second Boomer attacking from above. "They... They're fast!"

Sho payed equal attention to the weakened Boomer and the Carcinofolk, occasionally counterattacking the sinister Mink while in possession of the Light Puck. He wasn't so fortunate to dodge the second Boomer, which landed on the teacher's back, knocking the wind out of him. _Yep... this will take a while..._

The Noise was a mild annoyance compared to the Mink. However, once erased, Neku and Sho fought the Mink on the one plane. With careful, but strong movements, they were able to land some decent hits on the Noise. However, its power was far greater than once believed. It managed to deal much more damage than the average Mink, and at twice the speed.  
It was a tedious battle to test their skills. The Mink had been erased, leaving Neku out of breath and worn down. _If that was only one Noise..._

--

The same approached style to the battles ahead went on. Sho heaved a sigh, "This is like trying to figure out a rhetorical question... I feel like a hamster in a wheel..."  
He scanned again, and groaned miserably, "Head's up Neku! Reinforcements have arrived!"  
The exhausted Grim Heaper stopped scanning, and wearily looked around. A voice, a peculiar one at that, eventually weaved its way up the street.

Neku scanned the area to see the massive amount of Noise, but not the cause. "Great..."

Sho strained his focus on the peculiar voice, following it until he was standing outside of Mexican Hotdog. With it held such a negative vibe, the teacher felt as though he was standing far too close to a loud speaker, with its volume maxed out. The voice, however, wasn't loud itself.

The speaker had separated herself and a group of teens away from the Shibuyan hustle, causing some attention to the argument. The same teens Neku saw from Day 3 had been held up by Neku's Aunt.

"You don't get it, do you? No respect for elders." Neku's Aunt grumbled curtly, "All I want to do is get back home. Don't I have rights to complain about my ungrateful antisocial nephew?"

The group of girls stood their ground, staring the old woman down. "Be grateful that you _have_ a nephew." one of the more outspoken members of the group stepped forward. This was enough for Neku's Aunt to go off.

Neku had lost his focus and stopped scanning. He looked around to source the cause of the noise, however the crowd blocked his view from the true cause. He caught a glimpse of the teen who had confronted his Aunt.  
"Ayaka?" he called out without thinking twice. He had surprised himself. He had remembered where he saw this person before. She was in the class next to Neku for a few lessons. They hardly spoke, if at all.

Sho continued to watch carefully and listen. How could Neku live with such a horrid relative? _About a month after..._ _Wait... I can't remember..._  
Though promptly forgotten as part of his entry fee, Sho rang Neku's Aunt one month after he didn't show up at school. Not 30 seconds into the call, and the Aunt rudely hung up, assuming Sho was a cruel teacher, or the principle, informing that he was going to expel Neku.  
He quickly found his partner and went over to stand by him.

"A nephew that never said his thanks! A nephew who got himself expelled three times! If he lives to tell the tale once he's out of his coma..." the Aunt violently retaliated, making her voice heard throughout Spain Hill.

No one else in the UG heard what she said next, but Joshua was amongst the crowd, astounded by the Aunt's wishes. She would rather have Neku dead for good.  
This called for drastic action; to imprint a message in her head and get her to leave the location for the time being, and save the girls from humiliation.  
Joshua focused on Neku's Aunt, a rush of negativity flowed into his mind. Bearing with it, he persevered. He made an attempt to imprint 'silent gratitude' into her mind.

Meanwhile, Neku kept close to Sho while trying to see around the crowd for a glimpse of Ayaka and her group again.

The word 'silent gratitude' entered the Aunt's thoughts, immediately silencing her open rage. Looking somewhat embarrassed, she quickly gathered a bit of self control and made a quick exit towards Tipsy Tose Hall.

Sho watched silently, feeling a small energy spike within the crowd. He followed the feeling, eventually finding Joshua standing in the masses of bodies that were fast dispersing, as if nothing of the sort happened. The teen quickly put away his mobile and left with them.  
Now only the group of girls remained behind, including Ayaka, all trying to figure out what happened. _That was... zetta unusual..._

As the crowd left, Neku caught a glimpse of Ayaka again. A familiar face in such an alienated crowd was a rare comfort for him. He wandered in her direction, happy to see her for this reason. "H-hey...!" he called out.  
She stood there in thought before one of her friends took her by the arm, persuading her to walk with the rest of the group. Neku's pace quickened, but the group were slowly becoming unreachable.

Sho watched, a little disheartened that the teen had already forgot that they could not be heard.  
"Phones! We're in the UG, remember? And we have a Mission to finish!!" he hollered out, feeling regret afterwards.

Neku slowed to a stop. He turned around, somewhat disappointed. "Y-yeah, I know..." he answered, returning to Sho's side. Neku scanned the area again, a little surprised to find a decrease in the number of Noise symbols.

Sho also scanned the area, smirking. "Looks like the scales have turned to our favour... let's mop the floor with them zetta sorry excuse of those Taboo Noises! And then to clock off early so we're fit 2 face Day 7! The magical day where Reapers get permit for hands on!" he cut short after that sentence.  
"Inverse Matrix... where the factor did _that_ came from?"

The statement took Neku off guard. _D... Déjà' vu..._  
Shrugging it off, he focused his mind to scan and engage in a battle. "Let's do this then!"


	36. Independence

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku, Joshua.

-**Day 6**-

Three Noise symbols later and it was Mission complete. Sho was pretty satisfied with himself, but very proud of his younger partner. _Those Taboo Noise were a pain in the vector to confront, but it was all zetta worth it in the end._  
However, seeing Neku's Aunt today bothered him, a lot. "All in a good day's Mission, eh Phones?" Sho asked as he stretched a bit, "Why don't we find a place to sit down? The battle strain zetta bytes."

Neku relaxed a little. The last few battles definitely tested his endurance. He nodded. "Yeah."  
It wasn't hard to find a seat in this region. They both sat down at the first park bench they saw. Neku yawned out of fatigue. "That wasn't that bad..."

Sho happily followed, and keeping to his thoughts, wondering what would be the right thing to do once they get back to the RG.  
Once they sat down, he made his mind up, and turned to Neku, smiling somewhat. "Hey Phones? I saw your Aunt today, and... it got me thinking..." he started hesitantly.

Neku looked over at him curiously and got a little defensive. "What about her?"

"I don't like her attitude. And something tells me you don't like being around her, too. But enough about that. We've admitted our problems. I felt much better explaining myself on Day 4. You're full of surprises and potential, that's quality, not garbage. It's a zetta shame no one else can see that..." Sho stated simply, ignoring Neku's slightly confused expression.  
"If we do get a second chance... what would you say if I went to the law and asked for rights to your custody?" he asked hopefully.

Neku had to think twice about what Sho had just asked. A hopeful smile crept onto his confused face. A sense of hope immediately sunk into his heart. "Y-you're serious?" he asked in disbelief.  
Neku trusted Sho enough to know that he wouldn't joke about this sort of thing. He looked to the ground with a big smile. "I... don't know what to say..." he said somewhat cheerfully. Could this really be happening?

"I don't josh, Neku. I mean it." Sho confirmed with an elated glint in his eyes, "But I take that as a yes?"

Neku looked back over at Sho and nodded a little. No more putting up with his Aunt. He could finally get the independence he's wanted.

Sho smiled. The teen's happiness was a rare beauty in a world of garbage. The smile, however, turned into a cheeky smirk.  
"For being so cold on me for the first few days, I owe you a headache!" he laughed, and proceeded on tickling his partner playfully.

Caught off guard, Neku couldn't help but to laugh. "H-hey, that's not fair!" he objected as he squirmed around.

--

After three minutes spent on laughter, Sho backed off, still chuckling. "That's better than sitting around in misery, hey? Do you feel much better now?" he asked, before he briefly messed with Neku's hair.

Neku kept a smile on his face. "I'll bet you do now too."

"All we have 2 do now..." Sho started in a warm tone, looking at the scenery ahead of him, "Is 2 last Day 7. What would be in store for us?"

Before Neku could answer, he caught a glimpse of a silver haired teen in the crowd. His smile vanished once he could distinguish Joshua standing in the distance. He held himself back from charging towards Josh, but gave him a deathly glare. _You..._


	37. The ExComposer's Treachery

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Joshua, Neku Sho.

-**Day 6**-

Joshua wasn't very ignorant, as he just spotted the two on the bench. Somewhat hesitant, he cautiously made his way over, paying no mind to the passing living that easily knocked him about. He earned more disgraceful stares from strangers due to the lack of courtesy.  
Finally made it to the bench, Josh sat down, paying no mind to Neku. "...We need to talk." he said quietly, rather warn out and looking at the ground.

Neku stared him down. "I've got nothing to say to you." he mumbled bitterly. _Some nerve... He's probably come to erase us...!_

"Fine, don't say anything..." Joshua promptly retorted, giving Neku a weary glare, "I don't expect you to listen..."

Sho watched Joshua carefully, "Something's on your mind? You wouldn't want to find us to subtract our time in the UG for zetta no reason."

Joshua turned back to Sho. "I've made my move against the Composer by simply ignoring His requests and finding you two. I'm in a tender situation right now; don't vex me." he growled again, regarding his tone afterwards.

Neku's glare fixed onto Josh. "How do we know it's not another trap of yours?"

Disregarding Neku's question, Joshua looked over at Sho. "How is your shoulder anyway, Mr. M? Apologies for that clumsy worker, but it wouldn't have happened if you kept a grip on your patience."

Sho huffed a bit. "Not good, not bad, can't zetta complain. Anyway, what do you need?"

"I... I was in the Udagawa backstreets, observing the old CAT Mural..." Joshua paused, irked with Neku still giving him that death glare, "You know, I'm telling you this because I can trust you more than the man in charge."

Neku crossed his arms and sat back, still suspicious of Josh. "Oh yeah? How can we trust you then?" he interrogated.

"I have a question for you then; who would you trust more? A student who's been at the same school with you? Or an ethereal being full of anonymity and lies?" Joshua asked in frustration.  
"True I'm somebody not worthy of anyone's trust, but if you have experienced life in my shoes, you'll understand. A worthless killer, and nothing more. Guess what? I'm sick of it, and I'm prepared for my punishment for this rebellious treachery."

Neku snickered again. _Ethereal being or not, you're both full of lies..._  
Regardless, Neku felt he had to hear him out. "Can you prove it?"

Sho smirked with Neku, just to support the teen's question. "Alright, hecto-Maestro; we're willing to listen, we're all ears. But we promise nothing, understood?"

Joshua took a deep breath. He was tired last night, the messy hair and tired eyes showing it all. "I can only keep up such a smug facade for so long, until I break...  
"The Composer was behind it all, and I had no choice but to help. He was the one who sent me to 'know you better', He was the one who demanded me to kill, He was the one who ordered me to watch over this Game. He demands, I execute. Simple as that. I fight my own battles more often than not. But when something neither Him nor I can control happens, say like, suicide, then it's a thing that spirals out of control...  
"But this wasn't an ordinary suicide; the individual _snatched_ my gun and _took his life_. Remember the time you saw me run from the police? After Day 2, the Composer wiped the memory clear out of their heads, with a side note; He won't do it again. I'm officially on my own. Come the next day... for my actions, I will never again see the UG, hear the Players and Reapers alike, and anyone I've befriended will forget me..." the silver haired teen looked at the ground, trying to hold back the tears, "And if I try to remind them, they'll just ignore me... absolute isolation. But I'm prepared to take on that... because as you said, Sho; 'Don't hold onto anything that will bring you harm'..."

Neku kept silent for a little, observing Joshua closely to determine his sincerity or not. Half convinced, Neku still kept his suspicion.  
"What did you need us to do?" he asked.

With bitter frustration, Joshua briefly rubbed the back of his neck. It had been aching all day since last night.  
"Well... you're the only two left in the game... I'm unable to confront the Composer myself, but... I _could_ give you an insight on what will happen tomorrow. So? You're interested?" he asked, digging into his pocket.

"The... only two left?" Neku murmured out of disbelief. _Surely there was someone else out there... right?_ This grim news was enough reason for Neku to finish the game.  
Still giving Josh a suspicious look, he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt on this odd occasion. "What do you know?"

Sho had been listening intently until he heard of the unpleasant news. "Whoa wait... you're dead serious?"

Joshua pulled his hand out of his pocket, holding a Lv5 keypin and a skull pin that looked like the Player's, but the skull being black and the pin itself white.  
"There used to be keypins that ranged from Lv1 to Lv4, but the one I'm giving will unlock all walls. No questions asked." he explained sternly, putting it down on the bench, "And this 'Black Skull' pin is a sign that I work with the UG from the RG. First chance you get, give it back to the Composer and tell him I quit.  
"Tomorrow, you two will not just face one Mission, but I assume that the Missions you'll be assigned to will relate to the alien past. There will be a series of them, one after another. You need to be fit and ready when they come. That's all I can give." Josh sighed and looked away disdainfully, tucking a bit of hair behind his ear.

Neku took a good look at the pin. _We do this for him... We get by the walls? We had no problem with getting by the walls before..._ "Didn't expect it to be easy..."

"Now if you're satisfied, I'll be on my way." Joshua muttered miserably, standing up to leave, but by standing still, he was visibly trembling, "Last night was... just too much..."

Sho picked up the other pin and examined it. _This 1 is like the Inverse Matrix to the Player Pin..._

Seeing Joshua in such a state almost made Neku feel sorry for him. It could likely be another trick, but he could see the distress Josh was in. "...Thanks." he said quietly.

After standing for a moment, Joshua just managed to catch himself, using the bench as support. The gratitude, however small, was welcoming; it almost made his body shut down all at once from relief. Once he gathered his wits, Joshua looked up at Neku, the smart attitude vaporised, hardly leaving a glint in his eyes. "No... Thank you Neku and you too, Sho. You've inspired me to make this choice... Do give Yammer my thanks as well should you see him... now you have a big day tomorrow. Prepare and rest up early. I wish you nothing but success..."  
Carefully steadying himself, the living teen then turned to head for Tipsy Tose Hall.

Sho looked disturbed, as he watched Joshua leave. "Something's missing in him..."

Joshua was definitely out-of-character from what Neku can recall. Act or not, there was a change in Josh's character.

Sho looked down at the pin he picked up. "So... tomorrow is it... will we find all the answers we seek?"

Neku shrugged. "Maybe."  
Although unlikely, he had a gut feeling that they would. He was determined to finish this game for more reasons than he started with.

The day's toll eventually caught up with them. Sho yawned and stretched, taking one last look at Spain Hill. "You heard the Radian, the sooner we sleep, the better off we'll be tomorrow..." he mumbled, "Oh... and thanks for... putting up with me..." he added with a smile before closing his eyes.

Neku went a little quiet. Instinct misjudged Joshua, but his motives and reasons have now become clear. Instinct tells him to disbelieve the rumours about the Composer, but a strange memory tells him that Josh's story is valid. Neku huddled on the bench until he was comfortable enough to fall asleep. With no more being said, all that could be done to prepare for tomorrow's onslaught was to get an early night's sleep.

--

_... Mr. H... Yammer... I'm out of time...  
He'll come for me tomorrow... for treason...  
I want to say thanks for support...  
I want to say sorry to Sho and Neku...  
I hope that whatever happens...  
It will all work out... in the end..._


	38. Nightmare

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku.

-**Day 7 Part 1**-

A flash of white, a black blur...  
A flicker of static...  
Sho found himself in the Trail of the Bygone, with his coat fairly in tatters, his body in masses of black tattoos, and his hair a mess. Neku was nowhere in sight, instead, he was confronting Joshua. He could not understand why the black hate fuelled him as he watched his past opponent, with that _irritating_ smirk, and an orange phone in hand. He couldn't make clear of the conversation going between them. The only thing Sho could make sense of was what _he_ would say instead of his ambitious fuelled self from the past.  
"...Does Neku know...?" he asked more to himself than to Joshua, through a mouth that didn't feel like his own.  
A static jump, and he found himself fighting the cocky teen. A flash of light, along with a flurry of black. More static. Some of the Taboo Noise were aiding him in this struggle, he assumed. The vision blurred, buzzed, and twisted, which soon focused on those last moments of the struggle. Sho felt worn down, just like the coat he was wearing. He could hardly stand up. "What a difference a day makes... in a world of beauty..."  
There was a sound that made his gut sank. He regretted looking up...  
Because the last thing he could memorize, seconds before seeing a mass of static, robbing him of his vision, was a vending machine, a car, and so much more metallic garbage. And they were falling straight towards him, thanks to gravity.  
Sho sat up with a start, panic and adrenalin thumping in his veins, his forehead under the cap covered in sweat. He breathed hard, trying to make sense of this hellish nightmare. He quickly looked around, trembling violently from the sweat and cold. He flipped open his phone to see what time it was.  
_6:28am... still early..._  
They were in the Scramble Crossing. Next to Sho, Neku also suffered familiar nightmares, seeing he was trembling and tossing on the ground. Worried for his partner, Sho grabbed Neku's shoulders and gently shook him. "Phones! Wake up!" he ordered anxiously.

The darkness' grip took hold of Neku quickly. The cold night and foreboding day ahead had caused unrest in his mind.  
A flash of light illuminated the once pitch black room immediately, blinding Neku for a while. Lying back on the floor, he climbed to his feet, his eyes slowly adjusting to the endless white. "Where is this...? Am I erased..?"  
What looked like monolithic solid white pillars formed around him and stretched into the distance. The words "Neku Sakuraba" echoed from the distance in a calm voice. Taking Neku by surprise, he frantically looked around to discover the source, but to no prevail. The voice changed into a snarl. "So... you've... made it... this... far?" it hissed, gradually growing into an unbearable crescendo. Neku held his ears tightly as the surroundings began to shake and warp into darkness again. At the breaking point, the bloodcurdling gunshot sounded. The same piercing pain and memories flooded back into his mind as he was propelled into the void. He called out for help several times, but with no luck. The only answer he received was from a familiar voice. "There's no one here..." it hummed. A distorted figure of his own self with the gunshot wound visible appeared in front of Neku. "Look what happens when you trust." it continued with a confident smile, advancing closer. "You don't have a soul to trust..." it hissed as it disappeared.  
"Phones!"  
Sho's voice had reached the darkness. Neku woke up abruptly. His body ached. _Was it all a dream...?_

"Phones!" Sho hollered again, shaking a tad rougher this time. Few seconds later, his partner wearily came around, which served as great relief. "Phones...? Ease down... You were thrashing on the ground... you got me worried there..." he explained as he got Neku to sit up slowly.

Neku rubbed his head. Reality soon took a hold of him again. His breathing steadied. He kept quiet for a while. The dream was still vivid in his mind.  
"Day 7..." he murmured to himself.

"You and me... we were stuck in the same vector... Though, I can't seem to explain my nightmare..." Sho addressed quietly, shifting a bit closer to comfort the teen, "It's still early. The time said 6:28am when I checked. So, nightmares aside, ready for today?"

"...Ready as I'll ever be," Neku replied quietly. He climbed to his feet and stretched, taking a good look at the surroundings. _I'm still not dreaming... am I?_

"Good..." Sho acknowledge, also getting onto his feet, "Oh, and enough with the dirt naps, first Reaper Radian I see, I'm tearing his hoddie off. I'm so zetta tired of being dragged around here!"  
He got his phone out, ready for the first Mission to get here.

Neku nodded. He became cautious as he waited anxiously for the Mission. _We might not stand a chance..._

--

The wait went on begrudgingly, though it was 7:12am approx when the Mission gave a beep.

_Congratulations Neku and Sho.  
You two are the surviving Players  
in the game, and have at last  
reached Day 7.  
Mission 1 -Neku Sakuraba-  
Head for the Udagawa Backstreets  
and examine the CAT Mural. A  
Noise Ghast known as Tigris  
Panthera Cantus has surfaced. To  
gain the rights of your history, it  
must be erased. 30m.  
Fail, and Face Erasure._

_~The Reapers._

Neku took a careful look at the message. _So we are the last ones..._  
"30 minutes?!" he shouted. "I've got no hope in hell of making that!" he added with concern. He stopped for a moment. "Wait... What about you...?"

Sho was pondering the same matter at hand, before putting his phone away, a slight concern on his features. "This must indicate whose history is involved. Remember what Joshua said; these Missions are relentless, one after another... Mine will come after yours, I think..."  
_Just_ as he finished his last sentence, the timer appeared on his hand once more, causing him to cringe. Yet, it wasn't counting down. "It might start once we're in battle... C'mon Neku; let's CRUNCH those fractals flat!"

Neku nodded uncertainly, his chances of success seemed minor alone. "Y-yeah..."  
He checked his phone again to confirm the Mission. Without a moment to spare, he plotted the quickest way to Udagawa and took the inverse Player Pin with him, pinning it to his shirt to not lose it. He took a moment to look at Sho. "In case we don't make it today, I just want to say... Thanks for everything." he said honestly.

--

Neku sprinted against the counter with Sho close behind. Of the walls obstructing him and his goal, the wall Reapers attempted to stop him by force. With little-to-no time to get to Udagawa, Neku dodged them all, breaking through the walls, one after another with the curious pin. _I... Have to make it...! But there's no time...!_  
After 5 minutes of running, his goal was in sight. He had entered Udagawa. The same foreboding feeling lingered in the air, as if forcing him to turn back and give up. Pressing forward, he took as many shortcuts through alleyways to finally reach the beginning of the Mural.

Sho ran behind his partner, eventually losing sight of him thanks to the hidden shortcuts he didn't see before. The stitches were stinging a bit, yet that was irrelevant as he passed a few wall Reapers, vexed from his partner for illicit passing.  
Eventually, Sho made it to the wall. The CAT Mural looked as though it had been redone. And standing squarely in front of it was the younger Player Neku. Something certainly looked out of place.

Catching his breath against the Mural for a moment, he examined it closely. "...Maybe I'll pick something up if I scan it." With that said, he scanned the Mural carefully. No Noise. Nothing more than a subtle murmur was coming from the centre of the wall. Neku stopped scanning. "No Noise... But I can hear something..." he informed Sho hesitantly.

"Every variable counts," Sho shrugged, and kept his ground, "Try hearing what it alone has to say."

Neku nodded and concentrated on scanning the same area. The murmur was incoherent and too soft to determine its source. Curious, but still on guard, Neku took a few steps closer to the source.

_Change.  
It must be constant.  
A missing tree,  
a poster that's been replaced,  
why is change important?  
Because, if you don't clash,  
you won't change..._

The CAT Mural wavered a bit, before slinking off the wall, forming an ever changing static shadow on the ground. It rose up and eventually took form. The Ghast that stood before the teen was Neku, with a bloody gunshot wound on its chest.  
"Independence, support, and a hobby." It said in Neku's voice, smirking, "Balance all three, and there is only one way you can go in the future; forward. But... I'm here to make sure it won't happen. You need to prove you deserve a second chance."  
The Ghast's blue eyes gave a flash, turning them yellow as it slightly levitated off the ground, reaper wings spreading from its back.

The nightmare was coming to life...  
Neku backed off, denying its existence silently. _I... I must be dreaming!_  
He watched the Ghast in fear and denial as it transformed itself, looming over Neku with a sadistic grin, a full row of sharp teeth presented forth. He took a few more steps back, keeping his focus fixed on the Cantus. He took an offensive stance, ready to fight the Cantus, however slim the chances of survival seem.


	39. Tigris Panthera Cantus

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku.

-**Day 7 Part 1**-

"You may think you're lonely, but you are _not_ alone!" Sho bravely commented, standing next to Neku, also ready to confront the Tigris Panthera Cantus, "This requires the double plane, it seems, and it looks like I won't come back here to help you. Also, keep a zetta close eye on your pins."  
With that, he vanished to confront the Cantus on his own battle terms.

The Cantus' grin didn't falter. Neku's pins appeared in his hand. Thanks to Sho, his determination to fight had been regained. Taking the opportunity, Neku quickly fired a beam at the Cantus, who disappeared narrowly before impact.

Trapped in aerial combat, which seemed inevitable, Sho lunged forward at the Tigris Cantus, ready to daze it if possible. It quickly melted and went behind the Grim Heaper milliseconds before contact.  
It appeared behind Sho not long after that and came down hard with both feet pummelled squarely into to the Player's back, knocking him off balance. Sho quickly recovered from that surprise attack, now vexed.  
"You zetta dirty little sneak!" he admitted darkly, that crazed smile now on his face. Anyone who knew the past knew better than to spring on Sho Minamimoto's back. The 'Inverse Matrix' psych had been rediscovered and added as a sticker to the list of possibilities.

Neku frantically looked around for the Cantus, which reappeared to his side, lashing out to swipe Neku. He jumped back, flinching a little as he dodged the Cantus' attacks. "Quick..."  
The Cantus smirked and teleported behind Neku in an instant. With a sadistic tone, it proudly preached to Neku. "You'll never make it. You never have." Neku clenched his teeth and swung around, hitting the Cantus with a slash, doing little damage to it.  
"I have to try...!" he yelled as he made his move.

"Sho Minamimoto... you've been alone much longer than Neku Sakuraba has... doesn't that make you... jealous?" the Cantus cooed at the teacher, who still kept tabs for a strong counterattack.  
"What's it to you, Radian?" Sho interrogated, as he used the top of a tall building to get a leg up. He pulled back a fist, keen on landing a decent, if not, critical hit. As predicted, the Cantus slipped out of the way and appeared behind for the surprise attack.  
"Fool me once, shame on me..." Sho remarked, "Fool me twice... Inverse Matrix!"  
He immediately warped behind the bluish tigerlike Noise and unleashed a barrage of unrelenting chain attacks, finishing the combo with a blast of the Tangent psych.

The Cantus hardly flinched at Neku's attack. "Try all you like, you'll still fail!" the Cantus yelled back at Neku while lunging forward to strike again. Neku did a barrel roll onto the ground to avoid the Cantus' attack. He quickly climbed to his feet, meeting the larger Noise eye to eye. The Cantus pushed him back onto the floor and held Neku down with its foot. Neku cringed under the pressure, now in a helpless situation. The Cantus leaned closer.  
"You really think you have a life back there? There's nothing." it hissed as it put more pressure onto Neku. "You're at the end of the road now..."  
Neku struggled to escape. Maybe it was the end of the line? He couldn't accept it, though part of him felt it was inevitable. "N-no..." he denied, causing the Cantus to raise a brow.  
"No? You can't deny it, Neku." it laughed as it dug its' claws into Neku's chest.  
Neku flinched in pain. "N-No!" he repeated. He took a firm grip of the Cantus' leg. "I've got everything to live for!"  
Neku gathered his strength and casted a burning psych on the Cantus' leg. It growled in pain and removed its' hold on Neku, who jumped back to his feet.

Meanwhile, in the upper plane, Sho was having an easier time against the Noise. Yet it annoyed him to no end that the remarks were an easy blow to his partner, which often distracted Sho whenever he looked down. Seeing Neku pinned only caused the black hate to rise up, and short circuit the teacher's common sense.  
Sho screamed with rage, as he closed in for another chain combo, each strike harder than the last. "That... will be... enough... of THAT!" he hollered at the Cantus between blows, before throwing the Sine psych to end the combo. Sho was high up, however, that this will be a long fall before he could land. The Tigris Cantus was semi conscious, dearly weakened, rendering it unable to recover in time before impact on a tall building.  
This proved to be a valuable opening, a window of opportunity. Sho straightened out for a nose dive, utilizing gravity to his advantage, his eyes fixed on the immobile falling Cantus. He twisted his body into a vertical spinning motion, gaining momentum as he closed in on the Noise. Seconds before collision, he straightened out and landed a hard axe kick, square on the Cantus' stomach. It crashed into the top of the building, causing dust to erupt in the opening.  
Sho landed with ease, a smirk on his face. "Take 2 Panadols and don't zetta _think_ about waking me up in the morning!"

The Cantus fell back in Neku's plane, as if it took a dire hit. Neku grinned. _Good timing, Sho._  
Taking advantage of this chance, Neku ran forward and hit the Cantus with a combo melee attack, ending it with a barrage of lightning. The Cantus struggled to its' feet, snarling at Neku. Its' malicious intent showed through its' eyes as a familiar and sly grin formed. It teleported away with a laugh.  
Neku looked around, keeping his guard up. A noise from above caught Neku's attention. Confronted with the same sly grin, the Cantus disappeared again and reappeared behind Neku, dealing a strong hit to his back. Neku fell forward, but remained standing. He swung around to find the Cantus gone again. He kept on guard, leaving no weak points exposed this time.

The Cantus on Sho's plane wasn't doing so well as its' other, just managing to claw its' way out of the hole on the building, growling in agony.  
"Where's your bravado now, Radian?" Sho jeered with a smug attitude fixed in his tone. It was enough to get the Cantus riled up again. The weakened situation, however, was enough to get it to slow down. Sho saw that as an opportunity and closed in to attack.

"Stop hiding!" Neku shouted. He created a circle of flames around himself at a safe distance in the hopes of hitting the Cantus. With no luck, Neku checked the timer on his hand and shouted out again. "That's low!"  
_It's wasting time...!_ With 8 minutes left on the clock and the Cantus nowhere to be found in Neku's plane, Neku was getting anxious.

Sho checked his timer, hearing his partner's distress. "Now I'm zetta vexed!"  
He pulled off another successful chain combo, not leaving an opening in his attack at the dazed Cantus. Much to the Grim Heaper's luck, it didn't see him coming.  
Satisfied with his 'work', Sho stood back, smug. "Neku! It's' on its last leg of health! Iterate it already!"

The Cantus reappeared in the corner of Neku's eye, still in a daze. "There!"  
He charged relentlessly towards it, binding it with a psych and following up with a powerful punch when in range. With its last ounce of energy, the Cantus gave Neku a confident smirk before fading into erasure. Neku sighed in relief and took a moment to catch his breath. "You're wrong." he murmured happily to himself.


	40. Overload

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku.

-**Day 7 Part 1**-

With the fight over, Sho quickly slipped into the UG plane, smirking. "Very good, Phones. A+ for you!" he acknowledge cheerfully. Something by the wall got Sho's attention.

A puddle of static slowly rose from the ground, taking Neku's form again. This time however, it had a small smile. "Look alive, Neku!" he called, before walking straight towards him. On contact, it dissolved and merged with Neku.  
"You better enjoy every moment you have when you get back," its' voice lingered in the teens head, "Or my defeat would go in vain. Scan the wall again, but be warned; you won't like what you see."

Taken by surprise, Neku says nothing. He looks at the wall and takes a moment to prepare himself for what may be there. Hesitantly, he scans the wall again.  
From this scan, Neku was surprised to find the soft whisper still coming from the same spot. However this time they were coherent, but too quiet to understand from the distance he stood at. He took some small steps closer, the voice slowly getting louder at each step. Still having a hard time making out what was being said, Neku leaned close to the Mural. The words suddenly grew loud as they engulfed him in a flood of past memories. Images flashed in front of his eyes, as if he were reliving each terrible event that has occurred. The whispers were now loud and clear. Different voices invaded his mind, forcing the memories forward.  
The last few memories he experienced was the agony of the schoolyard death and ended with Neku facing his Ghast in his nightmare and the sadistic grin it bore.  
Neku stopped scanning out of shock and fell back, stunned.

Sho stood and watched, already tense in case Neku needed his aid. He couldn't comprehend what was going on in the teen's mind, but whatever it was, Neku sure looked pale. Sho gradually got closer when Neku started trembling.  
He was there for Neku when he stopped scanning, and _just_ managed to catch him before he hit the ground. "Neku?" Sho asked anxiously, worried for the younger Player's condition.

Neku failed to reply. A rush of emotions took the better of him, leaving him in a mess. _What... was that just now...?_

"Neku?" Sho repeated. Still not earning a response, Sho had no choice but to carry the teen back to Scramble Crossing. He looked at his hand, there was 5 minutes and 32 seconds left, yet it wasn't counting down. The timer was frozen. What did this mean?  
Still carrying Neku in his arms, Sho got to his feet, ignoring the nagging pain in his stitched shoulder. Sirens were wailing in the distance. As Sho began running, he spotted Joshua going the opposite direction, away from the noise that shrieked 'bad news'.

Neku began to get a grip on himself. _It's... It's all... in the past now..._  
He broke free from Sho's grip and held himself up unsteadily. He rubbed his head, still shocked about what had happened. He looked over to the source of the sirens, which had given him a bad headache.

Sho stopped the moment Neku recovered, taking a step back as the teen got free from his grip. Thanks to the teacher, he managed to get to the top of the stairs that led from Shibu-Q straight into Udagawa. He gently placed a hand on Neku's shoulder, "That was rough, my stitches are waning. Mind warning me next time you decide to jump out?" he asked in an irked tone.  
Not getting more than a distracted murmur, Sho proceeded with his next question, "Are you ok, Phones?"

Neku opened his mouth to reply but was silenced by the crack of a gunshot in the distance.

Sho was silenced from that gunshot, too. He waited a while, before going on. "I saw Joshua as I ran. That's none of our concern, however. We need to book it to the Scramble Crossing." He insisted, quite ready to get moving again.

Neku agreed solemnly. He can only fear the worst for Josh in such a tight situation. "Yeah... Let's go." He turned away from the troubling scene, as if he were walking away on his past. He kept his head up, yet couldn't help but to feel fearful for the challenges ahead.

The pair had entered Tipsy Tose Hall, when ambulance sirens began to wail in the distance. Sho picked up the pace. Never mind the student in trouble, their day had just begun.


	41. Joshua's Deadline

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Joshua, Yammer, Composer.

He knew it.  
He knew what was coming to him.  
But he wasn't ready for it physically.  
Running on thin strength, Joshua took off the moment he heard the sirens in the distance. Never mind ducking into the alleyway dumpsters. Never mind hiding in a sea of ever flowing bodies of the living.  
Never mind Sho and Neku who were going the other way away from Udagawa.  
It didn't matter where he ran or hid, the police will eventually find him, thanks to the Composer who at last found out of Joshua's treachery.  
Joshua, out of breath, slammed the breaks when he came to the Mural. He was trapped.

It wasn't all hostile enemies in Joshua's way. Yammer had been following Joshua. He stood just in front of the police forces.  
"Josh-!" he called out with great concern. It was all happening so fast for the Reaper.

Police cars pulled up, creating a semicircle around the exhausted teen.  
Joshua looked up once he heard a familiar voice call out to him. "Yammer...?" he asked weakly, almost as though he was delusional. He had grown oblivious of the police force hopping out of their cars and aiming their guns at him, as he was about to take a step towards the Reaper. _Maybe Yammer will help me out of this..._  
"Don't move!" one of them shouted, causing Joshua to freeze, "Empty your pockets, drop everything. You're coming with us!"  
He looked wearily between Yammer and the police. He smashed his gun two days ago, why was he cornered? His memory was slipping...  
_Wait! My phone! I can get away if I cause a distraction!_ his eyes gave a shred of small hope. Slowly, and trying to keep a smirk off his face, he dug his hand into his pocket...

Yammer shouted, alarmed. "Don't do it Josh! They'll shoot if you try anything!" He looked around for something, Anything that could help Josh, however things looked helpless.

Joshua hesitated. It was now or never.  
He pulled out the phone. The police tensed, readying their guns.  
Summoning his strength, he flung his phone towards the side. All watching faces looked away, seeing the orange phone flipping in the air. At that precise moment, time slowed down. Joshua planned to run in the opposite direction, hadn't his attention been stolen from him. Standing next to the officer in the middle was the one individual Joshua dread.  
An ethereal being, cloaked in white and unidentifiable... it was the Composer himself.  
Joshua just managed to make out a smirk, when the being's hand drifted down to the officer's gun, secured it, and took aim.  
A bang resonated off boundaries. The officer, taken by surprise looked back at the trapped teen that was stumbling, with a small red hole evident slightly left from where the heart would be.  
Joshua simply collapsed after taking the bullet's impact...

Yammer's gut sank. He ran over to Joshua and held him by the shoulders. "Josh!?" he yelled, "Just hold on, OK...!" He took out his phone and flipped it to his ear, yelling into it. He put it back into his pocket once finished. "The ambulance is coming... J-just hold on!" he yelled back at Josh.

The police stood there, lost and confused. The officer who had 'involuntary' shot the gun lowered it with disbelief. Surely he had the safety switch on...  
Joshua's vision was spinning in a red blur. If Yammer wasn't yelling, he would not be able to make out the words the Reaper would be saying. Stiffly, he tried to lie on the side with the hole. If he didn't, both lungs will drown from the oozing blood that flowed internally.  
Things began to fast forward; the howling sirens of the arriving ambulance, Yammer never leaving his side, the stretcher... Joshua couldn't recall anything after that. They had to operate immediately once in the van. This meant he had to be put into an induced coma.  
The world around him went black, Yammer's voice being the last thing he could understand correctly.

Yammer looked on solemnly. This was bad... for both Joshua and the Reaper. Surely the Composer would know about Yammer's treachery. However that was the last thing on the back of his mind. Josh was in a bad state. The least Yammer could do now is to stay by him.


	42. Fear

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku.

-**Day 7 Part 2**-

With Neku a few steps ahead, Sho kept the teen in sight. The pair just made it back to the crossing when their mobiles went off.

_Mission 2 -Sho Minamimoto-  
Head for the Trail of the Bygone  
and examine the heap of garbage  
there. A Noise Ghast known as Leo  
Panthera Cantus has surfaced. To  
gain the rights of your history, it  
must be erased.  
Time boost=1h  
Time remaining=1h 5m 32s  
Fail, and Face Erasure._

_~The Reapers_

Sho flinched at the increase of their remaining time. "In for a radian, in for a degree, I suppose..." he muttered spitefully, "One after another, is it?"

They had no time to catch their breath once their phones went off. Neku took out his phone the moment the message was received. He crossed his arms. _Leo Cantus... So it _was_ Sho back there..?_  
He looked over at Sho. "You ready to do this?"

"Almost..." Sho replied with a cringe. The stitches were really bothering him now. _Can't rest on a heartbeat, Pi-Face... get going!_

Regardless, the teacher took off for their destination. He had the Lv5 keypin at the ready, completely ignoring the Reapers as they went on through. Some wall Reapers were left scratching their heads.  
He came to an immediate halt once they entered the Station Underpass. A familiar fear overcame Sho, rendering him immobile. He did _not_ want to go back there, and yet he didn't seem to know, or understand _why_.

_Wait a second... Why would Sho lie about that?_ Neku thought to himself, a little confused. He looked around the Underpass. "Haven't been here for a while..."  
The teen looked over at Sho, who made no reply. _Wait...!_ It had finally hit Neku why Sho would lie. _He... He didn't _want_ me to know! ...Sort of like how I keep my secrets..._ He scratched his neck. It was pretty obvious.  
"Sooner we start..." he said to Sho.

"I dunno Neku... something tells me its zetta best off _not_ going..." Sho mumbled, trembling somewhat, "I know we should get going... I'm not sure, It might be my last time..."  
Still, answers are answers, what choice did he have. Timidly, Sho took a step forward. Whatever past he had, it was lying ahead, and doing nothing got him, or his partner, nowhere. "C'mon... stay close, its dangerous going at it alone."

Neku smiled sympathetically, staying by Sho's side. "We'll be fine..."

"If you say so. The sooner we're in the RG, the better." Sho agreed. They kept a steady pace, making their way forward.  
They eventually reach the Shibuya River, the water running fast and fairly high. There was no possible way to cross it. A fuzzy memory surfaced, making Sho stop and think. "Where is Iron Maiden when you need her?" he mused.

Neku shrugged. The pungent smell was beginning to get to him. "What now?"

"Either wait for her to take the barrier down, or..." Sho started, getting the Lv5 keypin out, "Try using this..."  
He took another timid step forward, eventually finding the wall that would stop Players from falling into the water. He jabbed the pin against the wall and it shattered from the force applied. Shortly afterwards, several silver tattoos began weaving from their side to the opening on the other, forming a stable bridge. "Nowhere else to go but forward... something tells me we won't make it back once we move on..." Sho mumbled to himself, before looking up and turned to address Neku.  
"So, zetta ready for this, Phones?"

Neku crossed his arms. "Ready as we'll ever be." He shrugged and took a look at the bridge, hesitantly stepping on it to check its stability. He gave an uncertain smile to Sho. "It's now or never, right?"

A second, Sho had to space out for a second, and Neku's voice reeled him back into reality. "Yeah... now or never... move now, or never move again..." he muttered solemnly.

--

Quietly, the Players kept moving forward, now entering the depths of the Trail of the Bygone. The natural sewer stench was persistent, but as they kept moving forward in the dark, a new smell invaded their focus.  
The smell of dry blood, of death, and rusted metal added to the mix.  
Once more, Sho began to freeze in fear, a blurry static memory entering his vision. "I don't like this..."

Neku kept on guard. The stench made him a little lightheaded and paranoid within the darkness. He watched the rats gather and scatter into small pipes along the walls. _This place..._

Sho shook the vision out of his head in order to regain focus. _Why...? Why here...?_  
And if he wasn't even zetta slower than before, he might as well have came to a standstill. After moving forward again, his heart began racing. He could just make out the monolithic junk pile up ahead in the darkness.

Neku slowed down too once he noticed Sho's stubborn progress. Curious to what he was staring at, Neku looked ahead, barely able to distinguish the object. A foul smell different from the rest began to linger. "W...what the heck is that...?" he asked himself.

"It's another garbage heap, one that's definitely not mine..." Sho replied, absent of focus. Automatically, he removed his Player Pin and held it in his hand, hesitant of scanning with it.  
With that small shred of consciousness, he scanned the heap, finding only a quiet whisper from it. Inaudible, just like Neku's past at that wall.

_Any tree can drop an apple  
I'll drop the freakin' moon!  
Any sound can shake the air  
my voice will shake the heart!  
Freedom is the freedom to say 2+2=4,  
but 1x1 will always equal 1!_

Sho sighed bitterly as he gave up the scan. Of course, his vision was now adjusted to the sheer darkness of it all. He looked down and found something out of the ordinary; an unconscious body, lying limp under the heap.

Sho was frozen in his place. Neku took the initiative to scan and once again investigate the undistinguishable murmur. He hesitantly proceeded. As the source was muffled by garbage, he painstakingly removed the questionable objects blocking it. As he shifted a worn out microwave, Neku had discovered the source.  
Sho... Taboo Sho that is... laid crushed underneath a vending machine and a car. Neku fell back onto the hard ground, backing off out of fright. "S-Sho?!" he said with alarm as he squirmed away.

Sho snapped out when he heard Neku's tone of his discovery. "Whoa, what's that about?" he asked his partner, slightly oblivious to the situation.  
He knelt down to get a better look of the body. This should surprise him, let alone freeze his thoughts again, yet it didn't. "That's..." he started to confirm, still carefully looking over the body, "That's me... when I went after the Composer... ugh! Can't remember... so close... so close..."


	43. Leo Panthera Cantus

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku.

-**Day 7 Part 2**-

A moment of silence passed. It was a deep, melancholy moment for the teacher, before he gave one last look. A sad, bitter smile came over his features, "Some Old Horses Can Always Hear Their Owner's Approach... and as it turned out... Some old horses cannot. You and me... we're not very different after all..."

The should-be motionless body stirred, slowly lifting its seemingly unscratched face, as it pried its eyes open. "You and me..." it rasps, a voice as creaky as rusted metal, came from its mouth, "We're not in the same vector..."  
With a violent jerk, the heap began to crumble. Loud crashes of the sort resonated in the Trail of the Bygone, as dust and derbies were kicked up as a result.

Sho took several steps back next to his partner, his heart racing with fear.

Neku ducked for cover as the junk pile came crashing down. As the dust began to clear, he opened his eyes. He resumed his defensive position as the dark figure emerged from the dust. "D-don't listen to what he says!" he advised Sho.

Hunched over, the Taboo Sho slowly emerged from the dust, not a scratch on its body. Its trench coat were missing its sleeves and left in tatters, revealing the torso covered almost completely in black tattoos. The distressed denim trousers looked indifferent, having a few more holes around the kneecaps.  
"Don't want to lose another friend, eh? Here's a question for you; why be friends with that zero of a partner when he has countless variables hidden from you?" it asked, giving a sick grin, eyeing Sho to answer. Before the teacher could even let the questions sink in, reaper wings began to spread from the Ghast's back.

Neku gritted his teeth. "You're the liar!" he shouted at the Ghast. "Don't listen to him, Sho!" he then shouted at his partner.

"Him? Or you mean _It_?" the Ghast chuckled in Sho's voice, as another pair of reaper wings flourished. There were a total of six wings spreading from the Ghast.  
Chuckling once again, the Ghast levitated off the ground, closing its eyes for a moment, before letting out a scream that's surely to make the ground tremble. As it opened its eyes again, they weren't mocking Sho's golden eyes, but were blood red, which soon melted into yellow as it took form of a crimson red anthropomorphic lion. The tattoos serving as the legs were a mix of orange and yellow.

Sho soon got ready to confront the Leo Panthera Cantus, as his fears were replaced by rage. _No! I'm going to keep the black hate from taking me! Not here!! Not while Neku's around!!!_

Neku's speculations were confirmed once seeing the Ghast take the form of the Leo Cantus he once saw. He held out his hands, his pins appearing in an instant. "We can do this!" he said with a shred of confidence.

Reaper walls sprang up in front of and behind the Players and the Cantus, boxing them in. The Cantus smirked sadistically. "I would rather iterate 2 Radians on the 1 plane! So you're not going anywhere, my confused Hectopascal!" it growled gleefully, moreover at Sho, before vanishing in an instant.

Sho kept his guard up. Now he had to fight alongside Neku, and there were no excuses if the Taboo Noise found him. So he took a deep breath, blocking out the unnecessary situation they were in. He kept calculating where the Cantus was most likely to strike, and who it will single out as prey.  
Just as Sho thought he had it right, he lashed out at the Cantus' hiding spot, but was instead countered by the same predicted move, with twice the power. It was enough to knock Sho off his feet.

Failing to keep up, Neku had a hard time spotting the Cantus. _Need to be smart with this one... And keep an eye on Sho's back... Bastard won't stop until he's erased first!_  
"You ok?" he asked Sho as the Cantus dealt the blow.

The knockoff counter had been wasted; Sho quickly regained balance before his back could collide with the ground, and pushed off with his hands. He skidded as he landed, kicking up a small path of dust, and stopping behind Neku. "...Never better..." he finally replied to Neku, unable to hide his fear in the somewhat vexed voice, "Thanks for your concern, Phones."

"Thanks? Is that all you have to say, Radian?" the Cantus howled with laughter while hiding, "I'm so zetta _flattered!_ What did the Composer do 2 screw you up ever-so-dearly?" it continued to preach.

Neku snarled a little at the Cantus. "Shut up already!!" he yelled as he took a shot at it with a piercing beam.

The Cantus quickly dodged the attack, that annoying smirk still with it. "Come here, I'll take you out in a heartbeat! I don't see you outsmarting my beauty anytime soon!" it taunted Sho.

Unfortunately, Sho fell for the taunt. "Where's your originality?!" he roared and advanced at the Cantus, completely ignoring the trap.  
A fraction too late did he see it. The Cantus quickly appeared in front of him, and countered with a roundhouse kick. Sho crashed against the wall, not out cold, but immobile as the black hate seized him once more.

Neku watched Sho fall with horror. "Sho!?" he called out.  
Letting his guard down was a mistake. The Cantus took this opportunity to teleport to Neku's side and deal a heavy punch to the stomach. Neku winced as he was knocked back and taken off guard.  
Before he could react, the Cantus had closed in on him, hitting him with consecutive attacks. The Cantus' grin widened as it toyed with Neku like its prey, making sure Sho was paying attention. It smirked as it lifted its paw ready to deal a final blow to Neku.  
Neku braced himself weakly, lacking the offense to retaliate.

_Can't afford to lose another, Pi-Face? Get on your feet... __**NOW**__!!!_ the snarling voice in his head ranted on as Sho watched helplessly, hoards of Taboo Noise finding him at last.  
The hopelessness quickly turned into rage. He felt the Noise crawling under his skin now, the power quickly merging to become his own. Soon, he had the strength to get back onto his feet.  
Or the silver tattoo-like claws, to be more precise.  
Before anyone could say 'zetta', Sho quickly intercept the Cantus' attack, turned his back and using it as a shield in order to protect his partner. He held Neku close, as the cutting blow came down fast and hard. Yet, it felt like nothing to the Player-turned-Noise.  
When the Cantus soon realized that its attack failed to hit its desired target, it took a step back, winced at the sight before it.  
Between Neku and the Ghast, stood Sho Minamimoto, no longer the familiar teacher, or Grim Heaper, but as the fabled Leo Cantus.


	44. Teamwork

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku.

-**Day 7 Part 2**-

Still bracing himself, Neku found himself in the care of the Leo Cantus. _What... Just happened...?_  
Shocked to find himself still intact, he wasn't that surprised about the presence of the Leo Cantus. A small smile lined Neku's face. "You're OK..."

Sho leered dangerously at the Ghast, before turning to address Neku. Despite the fierce looks of the Leo Cantus, the slight red glow in his eyes, something about him told Neku he wasn't in trouble, but at the same time, wasn't out of the danger at hand.  
"I said it before; I'll say it again..." Sho started solemnly, "I'll even say it a thousand times over if I must. I would _never_ forgive myself if you were gone for good. You're the only reason why I haven't given up, just yet. If you were erased, my calculations would go all haywire; I'd lose all motivation to keep going. You mean a lot to me, Neku. And _that_ variation will zetta _never_ change!" he ended sincerely, a rough tone of courage added to it.  
He then stood up tall on those impressive tattoo designs that were once his legs and turned back to the other Cantus, leering treacherously. "I hope you're satisfied, you've done it now. The Number Cruncher is back with a vengeance! Fear, Mercy and Remorse, even for your standards is garbage... CRUNCH! You're going back under that heap, and that's a promise!"

Neku stood back watching Sho without a word. No words were needed to tell that the feeling was mutual. Sho's encouragement reinforced Neku's will to fight and even for a moment took his mind off of the hard hits left by the opposing Cantus.

The Ghast still stood back with shock, soon regaining composure. "How is that possible? You're a Player! You can't just turn into a Noise as you please!" it snarled, obviously confused on such a possibility.

"You Inverse Idiot!" Sho roared back, "I wasn't a Reaper when I found the infinity variable! And you pushed me! Took it a step too far! Nobody, not even a low-life Radian like you can push around my partner like that and expect they can get away with it!"  
Sho kneeled down low, making it possible for Neku to climb up. "Get on; I'm not iterating this Hectopascal on my own."

Neku nodded. He struggled to hold himself up enough to climb up onto Sho's back. He held onto Sho's arms tightly.

Sho patiently waited, sometimes helping Neku a bit, while carefully watching the Cantus for any oncoming attacks. They were matched when it came to calculations, the Ghast having the upper hand in power and speed prior to Sho's transformation. Now the odds had even up. With Neku, the pair were ready to face the Cantus down.

Even in a beaten up state, Neku was prepared to fight. Together, they stood as a formidable team. Holding on with his left arm, he held his psychs in the right, prepared to incinerate the next thing that moved.

The Ghast Noise stood mystified by the going on of the situation, before stepping back and let loose another roar of laughter. "You have _got_ to be joshing me! What makes you think 1+1=2 will overthrow _my_ beauty? Your _efforts_ are nothing! You _deserve_ nothing! _Nothing!! __**NOTHING!!!**_"

Sho continue to stand right where he was, not paying attention to the taunt offered. He knew what would happen next if he just charges on in.  
And that taunt was getting a bit too old.  
"I see..." Sho began his reply, in a calm, unaffected tone, "Well then... that's your opinion."

Neku groaned. "It just knows it's going to be owned..." he mumbled to himself.

"You said it, Phones." Sho smirked at his partner, "Let's draw the deadline now. Hang tight!"  
He crouched low, tensing, waiting a bit, waiting for an opening. The opposing Cantus doing likewise, a single flinch, giving it away, meant fear. Sho saw this, and without giving Neku a warning, lunged forward with a roar. _This Ghast is going down!_

Neku almost fell off due to the force of takeoff, if he had not tightened his grip the moment Sho leapt off. Regaining his stability, Neku focused his power onto the Cantus, certain that it had no chance of escaping this final combination attack.

Startled, but recovered, the Ghast knew a head on collision can easily be blocked, yet it didn't want to take the risk of dealing with the Leo's partner, Neku.  
It planned on escaping by dashing to the side.

Sho anticipated this and veered off the straight line in order to cut the Cantus' evasive tactics short.

Keeping up with the fast-paced battle, Neku unleashed a burst of flames to incinerate the Cantus, once visible face-to-face.

The Cantus snarled, and halted from Neku's attack, shaking the flames off. With a deep threatening growl, it tried looked up at the Player responsible.  
...Big mistake.

Sho grinned at the cornered Cantus. He was grinning a unique grin, one that could not be described. Something decent had to be said, right?  
Looking at the Ghast, with the Taboo Noise's power running smooth under his skin and his partner hitching a ride, Sho settled for this.  
"4 words Degree; Fail, and Face Erasure."

Caught in a bad spot, the Cantus snarled, knowing that any attempt to once again regain control of the situation would be futile. Within a split second, Sho had landed a direct vertical kick to the Cantus' jaw bone with a crack. Stunned and critically hit, the Cantus staggered backwards. Sho took this opportunity to focus his strength and speed into a devastating axe kick, combined with a powerful bolt of thunder provided by Neku to crunch the opposing Cantus' skull into the cold cement.

"1x1 will _always_ equal 1." Sho stated proudly, watching the rest of the Cantus' body evaporate into particles of flickering black and white static.  
In an instant, a painful jolt snared him in the back of his mind, his strength leaving him fast. "N-Neku...! Jump off... now...!" Sho warned, growling in pain.

There wasn't a moment to celebrate this victory. Neku promptly got off of Sho's back, falling on the ground. He winced a little, but he was distracted by the pain as he watched Sho's power escape him. The pungent smell of death, blood and everything rotten had also resurfaced.

Losing power wasn't as painful as it had been since the last time it occurred. Static simply flew like the leaves caught up in a gust.  
When it was over, Sho was sitting on his knees, carefully looking around. The bandages under his coat were stained blood red, yet he paid no mind to them. Stiffly, he crawled over to Neku, obviously more concerned for his partner.

"Sho...?" Neku asked uncertainly. In the dim light it was difficult to see Sho's reopened stitches, but the way he moved was all Neku needed. "Your arm..."

"I know..." Sho weakly finished, stopped once he sat close to Neku, "What about you? Ok 2 move on?"

Neku nodded. It would be a painful task, but he was prepared to endure it for the sake of leaving such a place. Staying there would do more damage than good, after all.

The slight stinging pain came back after a moment of sitting. "Bastard swiped them clear off of me..." Sho muttered.

"Hey, hey... no need to get mouthy here, you pair of Degrees, thank you zetta much!" a familiar, healthier voice boomed behind Sho, making the pair flinch.  
"Relax, the Mission's done! I'll fix up your troubles; you can scan the heap, Pi-Face! Both of you, on your feet! Next up will be your Exams! QED, Class Dismissed!"  
Before Sho could turn around, the Ghast had already merged with him, leaving the teacher to face a restored heap, reduced debris, and the stitches gone.


	45. Bygone Monument

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Neku, Sho.

-**Day 7 Part 2**-

Neku was stunned. Sho seemed to be completely healed. With his prior experience with his own Ghast, Neku began to worry. "Sho...?" he asked.

Sho noticed his stitches weren't there anymore, as he looked up at Neku solemnly in response. "Hmm?"

A little surprised to receive a response, Neku stumbled with his words a bit. "Do you... feel alright?"

"A fraction... I guess... the stitches are gone. Thanks for asking." Sho replied quietly, starting to climb to his feet, "What about you, Neku?"

Come to think of it, the pain had subsided considerably. Neku couldn't explain how, but wasn't complaining. "Y-yeah." he said with a bit of surprise.

Sho happily offered his hand to Neku, pulling the teen back onto his feet. Both stood quietly for a while, before Sho remembered something. "I need to scan the heap."  
He walked over to the heap where he heard the whisper before, readying his Player Pin.

Neku kept up beside Sho. He reached out and tugged on his sleeve to stop him. "Let's just leave now. You don't have to see it..." he advised, keeping his eyes to the floor.

"I must... I need to know why I have those familiar memories, even if I've never experienced them before..." Sho said, slightly pulling his arm away, "Sorry."  
With a toss of his Player Pin, Sho scanned and cautiously walked towards the whispers from the heap. When he got close enough, the whispers became a coherent murmur, to regular, to finally a screaming voice on the megaphone. His vision gave way to static, which buzzed for a split second, before images flash before his eyes. The day he joined the Reapers, the heaps, meeting the Fallen Angel, learning how to use Taboo Nose, fighting Neku and Joshua, Erasure, rebirth from the Taboo Refinery Sigil, and finally his fall at the hands of the Composer in the Trail of the Bygone.  
More static, before revisiting his present time childhood, the loss of his father, unusual respect in Junior and Senior High school, University, and so much more in-between. The flashes of memories eventually concluded with revisiting his nightmare before waking up on the start of Day 7.  
Sho recoiled and fell to his knees after scanning, hands to his head, and one of which holding his Player Pin tightly. _What... wait? I was right... I did exist before..._

"Sho?" Neku called out to his partner.

Sho had a hard time trying to refocus on reality. Or accepting what recently happened.  
After a short while, however, he began to settle down. "I... I remember..." he started subconsciously.  
"I remember... everything..."

Neku admired how Sho seemed to have taken this experience much better than he did. However, Sho's last curious remark left Neku in uncertainty. "...What do you remember?" he asked softly.

"Everything..." Sho repeated, replacing the Player Pin back onto his Cap, "Every detail, the past and present... I will eventually forget it again somehow, so I want to remind myself what this peculiar place and the Udagawa Mural... why they're important..."  
Standing up again, still feeling lightheaded, Sho managed to get a pen out and wrote somewhere on the heap.

_Shibuya is a place...  
Where Life shines and fades,  
Where Imagination is around  
every corner,  
where the Udagawa Mural  
and the Trail of the Bygone  
stir surreal images...  
A place where the Past,  
Present, Future and all else  
in-between elapse...  
Shibuya is a powerful  
place in general._

"It needed to be written." Sho told Neku quietly.

Neku said nothing and looked away.  
_...Just to forget it all again._

In spite of the environment in general, it was the eerie ambience that was getting to Sho effectively. "We better move on..." he advised Neku, turning to head for the dark path ahead.

Still concerned about Sho, Neku agreed with a nod. Nothing good could come out of sticking around in such a place. Without any further hesitation, the two made their journey from the depths of danger. However, there was no time to rest. Each trial previously faced may have been nothing compared to what lies ahead. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire for the ambitious team. Exhausted and strained, the two press on.


	46. At What Cost?

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Joshua, Yammer.

_Beep... beep... beep..._

_...__**clunk!**_

Simple noise, that's all it was.  
Joshua felt like he was only out cold for a solid ten seconds when, in reality, he was out for hours.  
Something inside of him felt wrong, as if a piece of him was promptly missing. The teen lied in a hospital bed, most likely in the Intensive Care Unit, having to recently recover from his operation.  
Of course, when he opened his eyes, much to his relief, Yammer was sitting by his bed.

Yammer had been sitting in a somewhat uncomfortable chair, staring into nothing, half out of boredom, and half out of anxiety. Joshua's movement caught his attention. His head perked up and he looked over with a smile. "Yo!" he said enthusiastically.

"Y-Yammer...?" Joshua mumbled very quietly. For some reason, his remaining lung ached too much to breathe deeply, "You... you don't hate me...? Why can I see you...?"

"Why would I hate you?" Yammer answered rhetorically, "How do you feel?"

"Lighter in the right side... where I was shot..." a deep sigh, causing Joshua to flinch visibly, "It hurts... how... how do you remember...?"  
It was a painful ordeal to talk between a single lungful, "What... happened...?"

Yammer's smile faded away. "You were shot..." he said quietly, "But don't worry. Just focus on getting some rest, alright?" he said a bit more cheerfully, offering a smile again.

Joshua sighed in response, his energy easily spent on simple conversation. He quietly drifted his gaze away from Yammer to look out the window. He felt empty and useless, but a small part of him held onto hope. How were Sho and Neku doing in the UG?  
Inevitably, Joshua's gaze fell onto the small pump submerged under the skin on his left hand. "...Get it out... I don't like needles stuck inside..." he grizzled.

Yammer frowned. "It won't be in for much longer... Just don't move it around." he advised. _I should call the nurse..._

With that thought, Yammer stood up from the chair he was in. "Hold on, I'll call a nurse." he said to Joshua with a small sympathetic smile. He walked over and opened the door quietly, peeking into the hallway to spot and hail an approaching nurse.

_Like I have the strength to remove it myself, silly..._ Josh thought sarcastically.  
Too tired to argue, the teen continued to simply lie there in bed.

A passing nurse happily agreed and entered Josh's room, following Yammer. She walked over to check Josh's current state.

Joshua remained silent as the nurse did her brief check-up. With that done and dusted, the teen solemnly looked up. He needed to see if the Composer's threat was true.  
"When will the... needle be taken out...?"

The nurse took a look at Joshua and snickered, as if she had just been offended. "Be grateful you're even here." she said spitefully and walked off.  
Yammer called out for her again. "H-hey, what the hell was that?!" Without a response, he turned to Josh. "Man, am I gonna complain..."

"...Knew it... But I am grateful for two things... You're not affected... and my name isn't 'John'... for 'John Smith'..." Joshua almost giggled, hadn't his remaining lung ached too much, "Looks like He kept that promise..."

Yammer smiled at the lame joke. "You're alive too... That's gotta count for something."

Joshua nodded slightly in agreement, "You're a true friend Yammer... Shooter's lucky to have had you... as a friend and... a partner..." he acknowledged.

Yammer scratched his neck. "T-thanks..." he sat back down on the chair beside the bed and took a moment to think about things, "You should go get some more rest." he said with another smile, breaking the silence.

Joshua nodded again, returning his gaze to the ceiling, closing his eyes, and going into a peaceful trance. "I wonder if Sho and Neku... will make it back...?"

Yammer's eyes traced the cold, hard floor. He was grateful that another friend had been spared the pain of erasure, but at what cost? Without Yammer, there would be close to nothing left for Joshua in this life.


	47. Mother of all Reaper Reviews!

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
Fumiko is an OC, and the name, if I can remember correctly, relates to literature. She is serving as a carefree Game Master and Conductor, due to 'short staff' statues. She could also be the one responsible for the writing on the heaps. X3  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku, Fumiko.

-**Day 7 Part 3**-

It was a short trek.  
But it felt like miles.  
The pair eventually reached a brownish wooden door with snake markings on it. "Whew... this door simply screams 'End Game'! Still have a hunch that's zetta not the case..." Sho finally spoke as they approached it. The timer had stopped again, too, leaving slightly more than 30m on the clock.

Neku crossed his arms and took a good look at the gate. The articulate patterns gave the place a unique feeling. "I wonder what's ahead."

"1 way 2 find out..." Sho said, and before Neku could object, proceeded to open the door.  
Behind said door, was a pair of white couches seated opposite to each other, a white table sitting on a white mat, and a pool table on the further side of the room. The back walls were occupied with all sorts of bottles, most likely beverages, and the sides had water cascading down the walls. The entire room, however, had glass as the floor with water and piranhas occupying under it.  
"This... I zetta definitely remember this place!" Sho exclaimed as he entered. A fraction too late had he realized that the pair weren't alone; occupying one of the couches were a fair woman with glasses, pen and paper in hand and occasionally jotting something down on it. She didn't seem to take notice of them, however.

Neku took a good look around the place. This was definitely not what he had expected. But he was surprised in a good way. _This place has style..._  
Taking notice of the lady, Neku decided to call out. "...Are we intruding?"

Upon hearing Neku's voice, she gave a friendly giggle and put the pen and paper away. She looked up and removed the glasses. "Oh, how forgetful of me... I should have known you nailed the last Mission." she greeted teasingly, "But surely you've figured it out; can't return once you enter the Trail of the Bygone, and the only other way is here... no, you're not intruding.  
"My name is Fumiko, Conductor, and, seeing that we're short staffed, Game Master of the week."

Sho smiled to greet her in return, "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. Nice knowing you, too." he said playfully.

Neku scratched his arm, a little embarrassed. _...The Conductor?_  
He nudged Sho a little. "What now...?" he asked quietly, hoping the Conductor didn't hear it.

Sho felt the nudge. He looked down at his partner and shrugged.

Fumiko didn't let that go unnoticed. "'What now?' you ask? Well, I hope you two have done your homework throughout the week." she giggled, "Because like a Bolt from the Black'n'Blue..."  
She gracefully stood up from the couch she was on, stepping away from the table and stood right before Sho and Neku. Her appearance gradually gave way to static interference, as she began to take her Noise form.  
"It's Time for... _The Mother of All Reaper Review!_" she bellowed to finish her conclusion.

The transition from her Reaper form to that of a Cheetah Noise was smooth. A long, tattooed tail curled from behind as her front legs become tattooed. Her white fur bears small yellow spots. She walked gracefully over to the Players, circling them to observe them better. Neku froze in his place, but kept on his guard. She may attack at any time, after all.

"Well I'll be..." Sho muttered in awe, "I've never seen this Noise before, but you would be the Acinonyx Cantus, correct?"

"Well, you're a smart man, Minamimoto." Fumiko giggled, continuing on another lap around the Players, "I was about to add that question in the Reaper Review."  
She teased a bit, the tattoo tail brushing off Neku's back. Eventually she moved away, passed the table in the centre, and sat herself down in front of the pool table at the other end. "Here are the rules; There are a total of 30 questions, the majority relating to the heap notes and your pasts. They come in threes. Get even one wrong, you must endure a round with me for 1 minute. Three wrong, 3 minutes max. You know the drill. Neku, the more often you get it wrong, my attack power will increase. Sho, if you get 3 wrong, you will be forced into your Leo Cantus form. All questions are multiple choices, but not all of them are verbal. On a rare occasion, I'll pit you against pig or frog Noises. Erase the right Noise to answer.  
"Erm..." Fumiko paused, "Did you get all of that?"

Neku nodded. As suspicious as answering quizzes may sound, it seems like a good break from all the fighting, even if Neku isn't great with them.

"Ok," Fumiko giggled again, "Here's the first three... and here we go!"

--

21 questions later, with Sho having 1 wrong, Neku accidently getting the pair to endure 2 minutes against the Acinonyx Cantus once, they were still in Dead God's Pad. Fumiko even called time out for a brief snack which they all enjoyed. Otherwise the Players were going smoothly, thanks to the close attention Sho bothered with the heaps and their brief look at the past.  
Sho scratched the back of his neck. "Gee, how many questions did we have to answer again? My head's zetta grilled here..." he asked sheepishly.

Neku rubbed his head. _This is just like school..._  
"No kidding..." he whined. It beats fighting, but at least a battle would be quicker.

"Anymore and my infinite patience will implode zetta times over..." Sho mumbled, deciding to sit down again. He couldn't be bothered to pay attention to oncoming battles anymore.

--

"Last question!" Fumiko chimed after another half hour of answering, guessing, and inevitably, fighting. "And this one isn't a multiple choice question; it's what I'm asking you...  
"What is it that you want to do when you get back? Got anything planned for life at all?"

Neku relaxed a little. _Finally..._  
Without much thought, he was able to reply with some confidence. "I... I'm gonna get my life back on track." he smiled a little, "I'll be able to live my own life... Thanks to Sho."

"Zetta shucks," Sho responded to Neku with a slight blush, tipping his Cap in an effort not to show it, "I wouldn't throw my life away for the world, or for Neku to be precise.  
"I will continue to help Neku with anything he needs, and work on redeeming myself and so many others around us at the same time. The past has given me the answers I have been looking for, and now I know what to do. Anything and everything means so much, I wouldn't miss it for anything." Sho's smile widened a bit and turned to Neku, "You've taught me a lot, and I'm very thankful for it."

Neku looked away while scratching his neck, that smile still on his face. "...I-I guess so."

"Ok!" Fumiko cuts in, "The results are in! The Reaper Review says..."

...

...

"YOU PASS!"  
And just like that, confetti and balloons swoop down low, giving the seemingly boring Pad a bit of extra colour.

Sho took off his Cap, scratching his head. He then digs into his pocket, and, sure enough, managed to get his Bandanna. "I forgot I had this..."

Neku scratched his head, a little dumbfounded. "...Eh?"  
Unsure of whether to feel suspicious or on his guard, he just stood there, getting confetti in his hair. "You... serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious, Neku." Fumiko giggled, "Now to proceed, you must look for another door. But you can't see it with the naked eye. Here's a note; where I have been sitting the whole time with the review, is what I'm guarding."

Sho had just replaced his Bandanna on his head and put the Cap back on, when he finally took notice.  
"Uh-huh...?" he mused, "Does this require the Player Pin?"

Neku crossed his arms. _The pool table...?_ He shrugged and held out his Player Pin anyway. "Can't hurt to try."  
With that, he concentrated and scanned the room. As per usual, it started off with a dark blue hue, shutting out all that was there, excluding his partner and the Conductor. A small spark sat where the pool table was. Taking a closer look, Neku could see it was another wooden door. _Why didn't I see that before?_

Fumiko hesitated a bit. "Uh... guys?" she asked, "Don't you need a break?"

Sho perked up, quite oblivious to the strain they had today until the Conductor brought it up. "Now that you've mentioned it..."  
He walked over to Neku and gently nudged his arm to stop him from scanning.

Neku stopped, putting his Player Pin back awkwardly. "U-uh, yeah..."  
_She's generous... Something seems wrong here..._

Fumiko sighed, before sitting down and went back to whatever she was doing prior to the Player's arrival. "Your next Mission will be issued by the Composer Himself. It's insane, and you won't make it in the condition you're in now. He also deliberately sent the nightmares so you would suffer the pre-emptive strike of fatigue. But my, you two pulled through very well." she chuckled.  
"If you two want to be alone, I understand. You have 3h to recover, so feel welcome to crash on the couches."

Neku shrugged. _Might as well enjoy it while it lasts..._ He gave Fumiko a little smile.  
"Thanks." he said gratefully.

Sho also smiled, and tipped his cap, "I thank you whole-heartedly," he agreed.  
With that said, he sat down on the couch. _Wonder what's in store for us now...?_ He thought, then he looked up at Neku, "Want to take a seat, Phones?"

Before Sho could finish, Neku crashed on the couch beside him. He yawned a little and took a good look around the room. _3 hours..._

Fumiko grinned at the pair, before teleporting out of the room.

Sho messed with Neku's hair playfully. "So... you really didn't mind that I turned into a Noise back there?"

Neku shook his head. "I would have been erased if you hadn't," he looked over at Sho with a bit of a smile, "...Thanks."

"No problem, just watching your back, is all." Sho chuckled.

Neku laughed a little with Sho. A grin formed on Neku's face as he spontaneously started to tickle-attack his partner, "Payback!"  
Soon this will all be over... No game, no fighting, no loss... He looked forward to his new life more than ever. Reminiscing about the past game, he thought about the times Sho had been there for him. It was a comforting memory that he would never forget, even if they didn't make it through the Composer's trials.

"H-hey! Ease up, I st-hill ache all over!" Sho struggled to get the words out as he laughed.  
Five minutes. That's all it took before the pair quickly tire from exhaustion. Sho chuckled again and fidgeted with Neku's hair, making it even messier than when it was before. "You and me... I think we make a pretty good team." he concluded, before deciding to hog the couch by lying down, "1 thing you need to know; I take up space on the couch the moment I get back from work."

Neku shrugged. "I don't give up couch space so easily." he retorted stubbornly, grinning.

"3 words, Phones; Deal with it." Sho concluded, tipping his cap and quite content on drifting off to sleep while he had the time.

Neku looked to the side, staring at nothing in particular. He got comfortable in his own space on the arm of the couch. Somewhat anxious about the trials ahead, he took it easy as his partner drifted to sleep.


	48. Escape from the Void

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
This is, by far, _THE __**LONGEST CHAPTER**__ IN THE STORY!!! _8D Happy?  
You zetta bet I am!  
And a nasty cliff-hanger at the end! YAYS! (But please read the story first or it won't make sense!)  
And if you really wanna know who or what the Composer is... tough luck. We, my co-writer and I, don't want to add another Canon character or OC. The story itself has many surprises written out already! Oh, and the story will most likely have a total of 51 Chapters. We're nearing the end of the line! Double-YAYS!  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku, Composer.

-**Day 7 Part 4**-

Not a minute early,  
Not a minute late.  
3 hours later and on that second, Sho stirred. He sat up grudgingly, looked at his sleeping partner before nudging him gently. "Hey... not the time for a dirt nap Phones..." he chuckled weakly.

Disturbed from his peaceful rest, Neku refused to get up. He stirred on a second, more forceful nudge. He rubbed his hair and noticed the green timer had vanished as he placed his hand down. Now fully conscious of what time it was, he sat up and looked at Sho. Now was the time. The time they could finally end the madness.

Sho patiently waited for his partner to get a grip on what is to happen next. He greeted the teen with a reassuring smile. "(x2) get our lives back. What do you say 2 that?"

Neku stood up, yawned and stretched, "It's about time!" he answered.

"Good. I'm so glad to hear it." Sho replied with sheer confidence.  
No zetta? No need to add 'zetta' into everything to make a point, really.  
Without skipping a heartbeat, Sho got his Player Pin and found the door. Hesitating only to see if Neku was following, he slipped right on through.  
No words could describe what was behind the door; CAT's work of art, secured in a hidden pocket lined up on the concrete canvas and still as fresh as ever.

Shadowing Sho, Neku passed by him to get a good look of the room. He stood there stunned as he discovers the content. A mix of surprise, excitement and awe overcame him. He took a step forward. "This is..." He stopped and turned around to Sho. "This is all CAT's work!" he said enthusiastically.

Sho chuckled at Neku's enthusiasm, "I never knew you were a fan of CAT! We're almost 2 of a kind!"  
They took their time along the Trail of the Judged, admiring such a fine piece of art. While Neku appeared totally absorbed in the work, Sho allowed his thoughts to wonder. What was in store for them, he wouldn't know, let alone guess.  
As they neared the end of the trail, Sho's thoughts were soon focused on Joshua. It was then he remembered he had the inverse Player Pin.

A small piece of CAT was found everyday in Neku's life. He encountered many credible tags, graft and incidental wonders which lined the streets of Shibuya, but no other artist managed to capture his thoughts like CAT did. For the time they spent in the room, Neku reminisced over Shibuyan life and these works.

Nearing the end of the line, Sho snapped Neku out of his thoughts.  
"Room of Reckoning at 12 o'clock." he informed briefly, "I'm glad to have spent the week with you, but now... we need to focus on the task at hand..."

Neku nodded solemnly. He had a bad feeling about the challenges ahead. The two would need to be at their best if they wanted to stand a small chance. Neku took one last glance at the pieces collectively, then turned back to face the future headfirst.

--

The Room of Reckoning.  
It was white as hell once they entered, causing the pair to shield their eyes. Once adjusted, Sho took the time to look around.  
"I... I remember... trying to get here... but I never made it..." he began to awe quietly. Monolithic pillars stood tall in the distance. Sho looked at Neku, who was much paler than before. "What's wrong?"

Neku stood still, denying the existence of the room silently to himself. "T-this place..." he said quietly, the fear he felt was detectable in his tone.

"Neku?" Sho asked, getting himself eye level to the teen, "Neku? Focus Phones... we can't space out now!"

A hissing whisper soon filled the room, "So... you made it this far, hmm...?" its giggle resonating from indistinguishable boundaries, "Did you find everything you were looking for?"

Irked at this, Sho got his megaphone out. "Come on out Maestro! No more mind games! It ends _here and now!!_"

Regaining some composure, Neku snapped out of it and looked around. _These pillars..._  
The vivid images from the nightmare resurfaced may provide some insight for the Players. Neku took Sho's attention away from the voice. "If this is anything like my nightmare, then these pillars will fall..." he warned.

At Neku's voice, the room gave way to a bright flash, sucking up all the light from it. "White shadows... close, but no."  
What was once a white room, now it had the night sky and countless stars as the ceiling, the pillars black, and more prints on the ground. A massive skull, like that of the Player Pin, was dead set in the middle. "It's all in the music... before I can give you the Mission... all I can say now is...  
"Sink into **NOTHINGNESS!**"  
And with that, the ground shook. Directly under the Player's feet, a black hole had open up; the only thing supporting them was a thin wall.

Out of instinct, Sho quickly embraced Neku. "This will be one zetta bumpy ride! Brace yourself!!"  
As predicted, the wall shattered, sending them plunging into the darkness.

Taken by surprise, Neku held onto Sho tightly, looking down the whole way. Out of the darkness spawned various Noise which snarled and attempted to attack the Players. Narrowly evading their attacks, the two slid past at a nauseating speed.

Falling... falling... falling into the darkness...  
Or it feels that way because there's hardly any light.  
As the pair continues to fall at such a speed, Sho held Neku close. Moment's ago, the countless Noise had stopped, leaving nothing more than the void itself to watch. It didn't take long before they could spot something below, being anything but the light at the end of the tunnel. Sho gave Neku the warning well before impact, to brace again.  
What they managed to crash on was a heap of pillows, mattresses and blankets, cushioning the fall.

The landing was much easier to endure than Neku had prepared for. He climbed out of the pile of pillows which he had fallen in to catch a glimpse of the surroundings, however the first thing that had greeted him was the foul stench of rotten things. Neku screwed up his nose, only barely seeing through the dim darkness. The stench alone was enough to determine that they were back at the Trail of the Bygone.  
Neku looked around for Sho, who fell close by.

Sho quickly scrambled out of the heap, the same foul smell hitting his senses. "Well... that felt like a day and a half..."  
He quickly got himself out, offering Neku some help along the way. "Something feels off... and I'm not just talking about the smell... but we need to move quickly."

Neku had a hard time getting his balance right while getting up. He dusted himself off and nodded in agreement with Sho. He could tell something was not right. But that was to be expected at this point of the game...

Sho looked behind him; the Dead God's Pad was sealed off from the massive cushioning. He looked ahead and noticed that the heap they had passed earlier was absent.  
The mobiles gave a beep. Sho quickly got his out, reading through it, his eyes widening and paled at the Mission.

_Escape the Void. Time  
varies, but this 'place'  
will sink like quicksand  
in 20m. Fail, and Face  
Erasure._

~The Composer

Neku too had his phone out upon receiving the message. He gave Sho an uncertain look. "...This is bad."

Sho nodded, putting his mobile away. "We have to move now..." he confirmed, "Standing around and doing zetta zilch will get us nowhere. C'mon!"  
Pumped with anxiety, Sho quickly made his way back to the Shibuya River.

With Neku lagging behind a little, they came to a stop at where the bridge used to be. With time quickly running out, Neku freaked. "What now?!"

Sho quickly came to a halt when he saw why; without the bridge, they were trapped. And wading across the water would be an option, except it wasn't water. Flooding by was what looked like acid.  
"Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally! But we're gonna have to make the jump!" Sho exclaimed, picking Neku up and getting him to hitch a ride on his back. With the teen secured, Sho took a few steps back, before making the run up.

Neku closed his eyes as Sho took the leap of faith. The odds of clearing the gap seemed slim-to-none. Neku's heart seemed as if it came to a stop as they hanged in the air. A heavy touchdown threw Neku off of Sho's back. His heart skipped a beat as he opened his eyes and climbed to his feat.  
"We're alright...!" he said in disbelief.

Sho quickly got back to his feet. "For now. We need to keep moving." he said, offering his hand to Neku.  
The pair quickly pressed on, but something felt very wrong as they neared the exit. "Is it me, or does the outside feel zetta hot... and dusty?"  
Instead of exiting into the Station Underpass, they found a hill made of sand. Outside weren't the familiar streets of Shibuya, but a barren wasteland exceptionally littered with garbage heaps.  
_Dust and garbage._ _Perfect... just what we need..._

Neku was shocked. _Sho, we're not in Japan anymore..._  
He took a few steps outside in the dust and garbage. He held his hand up to shield his eyes from the glare of the bright sun. His eyes followed a trail of garbage until coming across a large shadow in the distance. Intrigued, Neku took a better look, finding what seems to be a giant skyscraper-like tower composed of garbage to be the source. Judging by the position of the tower, Neku had a hunch. He pointed it out to Sho. "...Isn't that where the Scramble Crossing should be?"

Sho followed Neku's vision. "I... think so..."  
The stench and heat were unbearable, that aside, the tall heap seemed to have vanished into a black hole at the very top. "That's our exit!"  
Looking south past the heaps was the ocean, its waters polluted by oil. The blue horizon beyond that was the only sight beautiful to bear with. "Now I know what he means when he says 'The World is Garbage...' Anyway, we need to climb that heap. This place will sink very soon!"

The heat made travelling across the wasteland a strain for the two, let alone worrying about any Noise which may show up. With no time to spare, they carried on at a decent pace. With the tower almost in reach, they took advantage of its shadow to relieve the burden of the heat. The garbage piles grew larger as they got closer, perfect for the Noise to lurk behind.

All too soon, a Garage Wolf lunged from behind one of the said heaps, targeting Neku. Sho quickly swung around to cast the Sine psych. On contact with the Noise, it quickly evaporated into erasure. "Ok... zetta uncalled for."  
The particles of the erased Noise merged with Sho. "Oh, I get it. Climbing this heap will quickly wear our energy down. Erasing Noise will restore a bit. The larger the Noise, the more energy we recover. Keep a sharp eye out, Neku!"

Neku jumped back out of surprise. It all happened too quickly, he was unsure of what had happened. Shrugging it off, he kept an eye out for any Noise. "Seems simple enough..."  
3 failed Noise attacks later and they had finally reached the tower. Hesitant to climb the monolithic tower of questionable stenches, Neku watched Sho begin his climb. He followed Sho's lead beside him. The vertical climb will take a lot of concentration to endure.

_Oh, this is just PERFECT! There's Noise in here, too?!_  
Sho kept a steady pace, pausing to cast a psych at the occasional Noise that tried attacking. He stopped and looks back down to see how Neku was doing, never mind looking at the huge drop from their position.  
Sho turned his attention to start climbing again when he caught the beautiful sight of the ocean. Without the buildings of Tokyo, it was clear that getting to the shores would cover a fair distance. "Look at that, Neku... what a sight..." he awed, before continuing with his climbing.

Panting a little, Neku stopped to take a look. "The ocean...?" Hanging onto the junk, he took a moment to lose himself in the rare sight. _I can't remember the last time I saw the ocean like this..._  
He snapped out of it once he saw Sho gaining some distance. Neku took a last look at the ocean before trying to make up for the widening gap.

Sho looked back down again, deciding to wait for his partner, before spotting a Noise creep up on him. "Neku! Behind you!"

Neku looked behind him; an ambitious Ragtime Drake was scaling the junk quickly. Feeling prepared, he held out his hand and blasted the Drake with a fire psych, erasing it the moment the attack hit. Neku let out a relieved sigh as the Noise's power synched up with his own.

"Haha, nice 1." Sho phrased his partner.  
They were keeping up a good pace. _Wait just a nanosecond... did Maestro Man say 20 minutes...?_  
At that thought, the ground began to tremble, causing the tower to sway slightly. At its base, a black hole had formed, making the tower sink into it slowly. "Pick up the pace, Phones, it's starting!" Sho hollered.

As the tower shook, the junk became more and more unstable as each moment passed. Neku picked up the pace without looking back. Without paying attention to what he grabbed onto, he slipped more often.  
Time was catching up on them. The tower was slowly collapsing and they had little less than half-way to climb.

Sho kept up a strong stride, erasing Noise at every opportunity. He looked back again and found a great gap between himself and Neku. The teen, as it were, was obviously struggling.  
_We can't afford to go zetta slow now, but you also can't afford to leave him behind either!_  
Sho took the risk of waiting for his partner. "C'mon! You can do this! You're doing great Neku! But pay zetta close attention on what you're grabbing!"

Neku looked up. He hadn't been taking notice of the growing distance between him and Sho. He picked up his speed, trying his hardest not to fall behind. Another slip of his grip, but Neku kept going._ This is bad!_

Sho continued to wait; soon weary he can't just stay in one spot for very long. He kept swinging around, erasing the Noise that chose to close in.  
Eventually, his concern for his partner got the better of him, and slowly, but carefully, climbed back down to close the gap faster. "We can't stop now..."

Neku kept looking up, "Just keep going...!" he panted. He stepped it up a little, only making a little difference in his speed. _I can't make it..._

Sho ignored Neku's demand. "Not without you..."  
He waited until his partner had finally caught up. "Ok, we can do this. I don't give a digit what happens now, but I'm not leaving your side, understood?"  
If the teacher had looked down now, the barren wasteland, even the exit they left from the Station Underpass, all off it by now had been swallowed by darkness. _We can do this... just keep crunching away..._

Neku didn't bother objecting. Instead he nodded to his partner and kept scaling the tower.

The pair was making fair progress, erasing Noise and scaling the tower, which gradually becoming unstable. It was sinking into the black hole slowly, but as long as neither looked down and freaked, they were ok.  
Sho did his best keeping by his partner's side, and often pointing out incoming Noise attacks. Neku needed the energy more than he did, after all.

It was a strenuous climb, but they had managed to reach the top of the heap, and with no time to spare. With a little more than a minute left on the timer, Neku and Sho climbed onto the unstable top. The tower had nearly vanished into the darkness as the footing beneath them crumbled. "Almost there...!" Neku said to himself.

"Oh yeah...?" Sho panted a bit, "Now what? How do we make it back to the Room of Reckoning?"

Neku looked around frantically. There was no way of reaching the portal from what he could see. They needed something... _anything_ to get them there. "Th...The Noise." he mumbled. "What about using the Noise to get up there?" he asked Sho. It was a crazy idea, but it could work.

Sho tottered a bit, a result caused by the garbage under their feet which will soon give way. "I like your fast thinking." he said, smiling.  
"Aim for the ravens first!" he pointed out, and took off from the heap, singling out a Decadraven.

Without a second thought, Neku spotted a nearby Decadraven which he leaped for. Jumping on it left him with little time to react. He locked onto a second Decadraven and jumped to it just as the first disappeared. It was a race against the seconds, but they were slowly making their way to the goal.

A frog, a drake, another raven, even a few 'flying' corehogs. Sho kept up a good pace as he leapt from one Noise to another without missing a heartbeat. But the progress was slow, as the void's darkness was fast catching up. Soon, the pair will feel its pull, and suck them in, like how water is sucked into a drain.  
He couldn't afford to look back for Neku, so Sho assumed that the teen will be alright for the mean time.

Almost losing his balance a few times, Neku kept up with Sho's pace. The pull of the void was beginning to drag him down, but he pressed on. So close. Their goal within reach, yet the void's force was great now, and time was almost out.  
One more Noise... Neku searched frantically for another Noise as the one he stood on disappeared; however there wasn't one in sight. The Noise below him had disappeared and the void's force grew, grabbing hold of his leg to drag him down when suddenly another Noise appeared in sight. Out of pure luck, Neku used whatever footing he had left to jump towards the Noise, bounce off of it and up into their goal...

Which would have been the case if the pull wasn't at full force right now. Sho made it back to the Room of Reckoning, turned around to see how his partner was doing. Realizing that Neku was in trouble, Sho quickly removed his Cap and Bandanna, not wanting to lose them, lied down at the void's edge and extending an arm. The pull felt like a massive vacuum.  
With sheer luck and absolute care, the teacher successfully grabbed Neku's wrist and, with a strong yank, pulled him out.

Neku flopped onto the floor, catching his breath. "That was... close..." he panted.

The moment Neku was out, the black hole behind them sealed off, the vacuum now an absent force.  
Sho turned to lie on his back, also catching his breath. "That... was fan-factoring-tastic! I certainly don't want to do that again..." he sighed, turning slightly to Neku, "How are you...?"

After catching his breath, Neku sighed with relief, "Still in one piece."

Sho nodded in agreement, before reality came rushing in on him like a tsunami.  
With a euphoric rush, he sat up. "Neku! We made it! We've survived the week!" Sho hollered in joy.

Somewhat confused, Neku also sat up. "We did...?"  
It was surreal. For some reason, Neku couldn't accept the trials were over. Not yet. He didn't know whether to be happy or suspicious.

Sho saw the lack of response from the teen, and shifted closer to him, concerned. "What is it?"

Neku scratched his head and looked around. No Reapers, no Noise... Nothing vicious. "...It's over?" he asked.

Sho was as stumped as the teen, and his shrug proved it.  
Without warning, the seemingly dark room lit up, causing the Player's to shield their eyes yet again.

Covering his eyes, Neku stood up cautiously. _I knew it...!_

Grabbing his Cap and Bandanna, Sho stood up next to the teen. "This is it... I guess..."

As the brightness subsided, Neku could finally adjust his eyes. "I'm ready for this."

The pair were kept waiting for a good five minutes in the brightened room. Before too long, Sho managed to spot an unidentifiable being emerging from the centre pillar, the only thing distinguishable was the white hood he wore so his face could not be seen properly, just like the wall Reapers.

"Congrats on making it through the week. You two are the only survivors." he spoke.

Neku crossed his arms. _The only survivors..._  
Who knows how many countless Players never made the cut? Neku sighed, but his grief was soon overcome with relief. At least they made it. _Better them then no-one, right?_

"Now," the Composer started, grinning under his hood, "You two have shown persistence. Tell me, did you find what you were looking for?"

Sho remained silent for that question, feeling grave mistrust for the being in front of them.

Neku crossed his arms. He couldn't trust this guy as far as he could throw him. "We just played to live again." he said blankly.

Before anything got out of hand, Sho briefly remembered he had Josh's pin. He quietly produced the pin. "Here. This was Josh's. He said to return it with a side note; he quits."

The Composer simply stood there bemused, before stepping forward and accepting the pin emotionlessly. "Too bad, I'm not sure myself if he's alive and well..." he chuckled heartlessly.

Neku took a step forward. "What do you mean by that?" he asked with a tone of aggression to the Composer.

The Composer shifted his attention once he handed the pin back to Sho. "You keep it, let it be his memento. I don't give a care to any and all RG proxy's betrayal."  
He took a step back, weary that a violent breakout will be necessary if the wrong button was pushed. "Haven't you noticed? The gunshot in Udagawa?"

Sho pocketed the pin, keeping a weary glare at the Composer. "I'll stand mute, thanks."

The tension in the air was rising. What Joshua had told the two earlier about the Composer seemed to be true. The Composer's twisted character was shining through, and they hadn't been talking for no more than 3 minutes. Neku's patience was waning. If what Joshua had said was true, then Neku had made a serious mistake by holding a grudge. But how was he to know at the time? He couldn't erase the blind hatred Neku threw at Joshua, but the least he could do is to stand up for him now.

The Composer waved the issue off, as if it were nothing of value. "Never mind that. The hour of Reckoning draws near. I should tell you this now while you have the patience. The number of Players that will be reincarnated...  
"Is 0."


	49. Exit Fee

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
This is a sad chapter, you know... :|  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Neku, Sho, Composer.

-**Day 7 Part 4**-

Neku was too shocked to form coherent words. _He... He's kidding..._  
He took a moment to comprehend it. Without a second thought, the anger had magnified. "So you're telling me all this was for _nothing_?" he shouted angrily at the Composer, "All those lives lost... All that pain... Dying only because _**you**_ wanted us here... _For __**nothing**_?!" he continued.

Sho took that as a stab in his selfless ego, replaying the words in his head. Silenced from immense anger, which was boiling like hot lava, he stood his ground. _You chose the wrong Degrees to mess with! NOW I'm zetta pissed!_

The Composer frowned, gathering the music and concentrating into a shockwave that ceased all blind thoughts. "Shut up and listen, _dear!_ I'm not finished!"  
He descended from his slight levitating, eyeing the Players carefully. "I'm just saying that nothing is free. You may have your entry fee back now." he said, sending a small jolt of pain to the pair.

Neku's mind was temporarily set off from the anger. Something felt different... He looked at his hands. No physical changes... Taking a moment to realise what he had regained, his longing for independence and a sudden realisation of self-competency were strong in his mind. _Is this what I payed...? My... Independence?_

Sho felt different, too. He carefully looked at his partner, small tears of joy welling unknowingly. He kept a straight face, but deep down, it was the happiest thing he remembered. Any memory of Neku prior to their week in the game, he regained it all.

Tugging at his hood in hope of hiding his identity, the Composer looked up again. "Now, the number of Players to reincarnate with an _exit fee_... is 2."

Neku looked over at Sho. He smiled, knowing what the teacher had just regained. The anger had dissolved and hope crept back in. They were homebound at last. However, the 'exit fee' was still cause for anxiety.

The Composer amused himself, waiting for the pair to settle.  
"I'll explain why," he started darkly, "You see, my proxy had came to you, asking to commit his treachery, hence why I gave you his pin back. This counts as a violation; do not interact with the UG for selfish reasons. As a result, if the previous Composer was in charge, your game, your efforts, all you had to endure... would have been null and void, and your rights to return to the RG completely rendered useless.  
"But _I'm_ the Composer now, and I have seen how well you fair your efforts. I asked my proxy to send you here because, as it seems, you were plagued by the past. Something the Angels hoped would never happen. Unfortunately, it did. What's more, the past could not be fully examined from the RG. So, seeing that the two of you have the same scores, that you worked hard, and that you now have plans upon returning, I would have granted you the rights to return unchanged. But nothing is free; for aiding the proxy's treachery, you will leave with the exit fee, a new feature made available since I've taken over."

Neku kept quiet for a moment. What the Composer spoke was reasonable enough, but he still felt that his motives were unreasonable. Even with fragments of memories, he would never have wanted to be dragged into this.  
"...So what's the fee?" he asked sceptically.

Sho didn't like this. His inner ego, the one that triggered the black hate, left the teacher with a weighing foreboding feeling. Whatever it is to be thrown in their face, it will impact greatly.  
He wiped the tears away and went over to stand near Neku.

"There is a choice of 2 exit fees, and there will be no middle ground," the Composer smirked at this.  
"Both are compulsory, and whatever one chooses, the other must bear with. One exit fee is to forget everything about your past life. This doesn't include the life you lead today. It means you will forget everything that's happened 300 years ago. No scrape of memory is spared.  
"The other option is to forget the experiences you had in your week in the UG. You won't remember coming here whatsoever, or anything you happened to have shared between you and your partner."

Neku was silenced again. He took a while to review what the Composer asks carefully. "Sho...?" he asked quietly, looking over at the Grim Heaper.  
His voice was shaky. This was easily the most difficult decision that they will ever make. No matter how they choose, they will lose their memories of some important time in the past. Neku looked down to the floor again. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't justify making either of the choices.

Sho glanced up at the ethereal being, his fears confirmed. On one impact, he would never be able to redeem himself from the past, and he had spent his time seeking those answers. On the other, he would not remember what he told Neku, or recall hearing the trouble pasts they had endured in their childhood, and most importantly, remember making the promise that he would adopt Neku afterwards.  
_All this... for nothing...?_  
Sho felt a great wave of sadness wash over him as realisation settled in. It was enough to bring tears of sorrow to his eyes. He quietly turned to Neku. "I know..." he responded with a breaking voice.

A conclusion had to be made sooner or later, as heartbreaking it may be. Staring into nothing, his eyes became teary. "...I don't care about my past." he said in a somewhat cold voice, "...But..." he trailed off.  
He couldn't bear the thought of losing Sho's memories and promises made in this week. It would be back to square one. Back to the circle of self pity and loneliness which held him back from gaining independence.

The air became tense. And Sho couldn't take it anymore.  
How he felt about Neku... to the teacher, the teen made him feel as though he had a son. How could he think that, when Neku lost his dad 6 months ago?  
"Phones...?" he started, still with a strangled voice, timidly taking a step towards the teen, "I... I remembered crying for you... when _he_ shot you first... and now I feel... that I'm going to lose you again... I can't handle that..." he whispered, the last word almost incoherent.

The Composer felt the music change greatly, a melancholy of grief. How could he have been so _cold_?  
Being the proud entity he is, he remained silent, as he watched the two Players before him.

As painful as it was, Neku had accepted the great loss which they will both endure. He clenched his fists. He strained himself to speak, but spoke as if he was holding down the pain and tears. "...J-just see it as a clean slate... No matter what happens..."

_Ok, so you have until you would leave the UG? Why not enjoy your last moment with the little time you had? So what if it was forgotten? Enjoy it now.  
_"Neku..." Sho said quietly, eventually embracing the teen, "You still mean a lot to me... no words can describe the times I had with you... I will miss you... somehow..." one hand began to gently rub his partner's back, the other, messing with his hair again, doing everything to comfort the teen, "Let it all out while you can... I know I'll forget this, but... I'm prepared to accept this choice..."  
Even the black hate was bidding him farewell._ Yeah... I'll miss you too, Pi-Face._

The silent tears began to flow down Neku's cheeks. He said nothing, because no words were needed. He wrapped his arms loosely around Sho in return. _So... it's decided..._  
"Thanks Sho..." he managed to whisper quietly.

Sho heaved a sigh, now completely ignoring the tears and still petting the orange hair of his partner. Once he regained self control, he cleared his throat, and looked up at the Composer, "Alright... I have accepted the erasure of my experiences in the UG. And Neku here is quite content forgetting the past experiences 300 years ago. We're ready..." Sho paused out of anger, "But mark my words; Don't mess with us again... because the next time we meet, factored memories or not, I'll make sure it will be your last."

Neku nodded. It's now or never. He looked up at the Composer also with some fire in his eyes. "And if you have any kind of... conscience, you'd leave Josh alone." he said firmly.

The Composer still stood emotionlessly, deep down however, he was touched. _Maybe, just maybe I can make an exception... you will forget, but small, similar scenarios will trigger the strongest memories that contain such stories and promises..._

_As for Yoshiya Kiryu...?_  
"Very well." he nodded, sending a warm shockwave to the pair.

Sho felt lighter than usual. He glanced around, at the Composer, at the pillars, at Neku... _Whoa, we're both floating...?_  
His vision was growing whiter with every passing second. It was a warm feeling, as though he could drift off. He closed his eyes, ready to embrace life again, a second chance... knowing things will never be the same.

The warmth embraced Neku, somehow dispelling the sorrow. It was a comforting, and somewhat serene feeling which overcame him. He closed his eyes as his surroundings become mute. Regardless of the exit fee, Neku was eager to begin his new life, free from the one that had haunted his everyday life in the past. Another chance. A clean slate. A new beginning. In the end, this is all he had ever wanted. To be granted such an opportunity was worth any fee he could pay, and to have shared the time with such a supporting partner is more than he could have asked for.  
His senses relaxed. His mind was at peace. Death or rebirth, he drifted off into a deep sleep.


	50. Recovering Redemption

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku, Joshua, Yammer.

_Beep... beep... beep..._

The sound of a heart monitor eventually dragged Sho out from the immense, but peaceful silence. As nerves began to reconnect with his mind and body, he soon understood he was lying in a comfortable, hospital bed. _How the factor did I get here...?_  
His eyelids gave protest as he tried opening them. The very last thing he recalled was the day he and Neku were shot by Joshua. _...How did I survive a headshot?_  
The next thing he recalled, foreign and alien to him, were the event's that happened almost 300 years ago, in the UG. Everything about it is distinguishable. _So what am I really missing?_  
Finally winning the war against his tired eyes, Sho opened them. He glanced around; next to him, resting silently, was Neku Sakuraba. Without a reason, Sho smiled with a warm heart.

The sound of bustling people and cars in the distance was the first thing Neku had noticed once gaining consciousness. It was a strange feeling. Vivid memories of the past week stayed within his mind, as if they had appeared out of nowhere. He eventually opened his eyes. The blank and boring roof greeted him. The hospital atmosphere caused some confusion. ._..If I was here..._  
Was it all just a dream induced by a coma? Dream or not, the memories stayed. Neku looked to the side. A skyscraper plastered with advertisements and billboards was visible from the small window on the wall. He looked to his other side to find Sho, smiling at him. He smiled back widely, overwhelmed that he was by his side. Promises or not, just having Sho there was satisfying enough.

Neku's smile confirmed that not all had been lost. Sho chuckled, the tired strain from something unknown to him. He felt he hadn't had a decent rest.  
"Hey Neku..." he greeted, "How are ya?"

"...Everything's alright..." he replied weakly. He looked back up at the ceiling, staring blankly, "You're alright?"

"Aside from the small factor that's in my right shoulder, never better..." Sho chuckled quietly in response, "Say... I've never seen you with such a smile... who are you, and what have you done to the real deal?" he then joked.

Neku laughed a little, saying nothing in return. _So... he really has forgotten?_  
He yawned out of fatigue. At least he has a while to finally rest. But what to do when he has healed? He couldn't waltz back to his Aunt's place so easily...

Sho noticed the unease look on Neku, causing slight concern to rise up from the depths. It felt familiar, but why?  
"What's wrong?" he asked out of curiosity.

"It's weird..." Neku began, "...I dreamt you and I had died... We went through this whole 'Underground', fighting off monsters, getting attacked by Reapers... It was so real..." he finished, trailing off.

"Oh..." Sho blinked, surprised a bit, "Uh... I'd like to hear more of it once we hit the road... you sound convincing..." he ended with a smile.  
"Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. I'm so zetta tired for variable factors. Sleep is suppose to restore energy, not drain it... heh... see you in a few hours?" he asked, yawning.

"Sure..." Neku replied quietly as he let his eyes rest. He was apprehensive about the future, but still hopeful. However, now was the time for rest, which Neku had greatly looked forward too. Not long after closing his eyes did he fall asleep.

Sho sighed, his own fatigue, unknown to him, catching up. "I wish you would tell me what's really bothering you..." he mumbled, before taking a deep breath, closed his eyes, and exhaled. Very soon, he fell asleep.

--

Weather it was to happen or not, Joshua awoke in his hospital bed, and realized that the nurses were moving him out of ICU. Some of them looked reluctant to help the teen, some frown, some confused.  
Keeping close behind the bustle was good old Yammer.

Yammer kept an eye on Joshua from time to time, and another on the nurses. He walked with crossed arms, still stingy about the way this hospital has treated Josh. Yammer came to a stop as the group did. Only barely catching a glimpse of the room number, he had a strange feeling. "Haven't we been here before...?" he said curiously to himself. Shrugging it off, he followed the nurses into the room.

Joshua looked up, a spark of memory entering his thoughts. _Yeah... we have. This is where Sho and Neku are..._  
Directing his violet eyes to Yammer, he gave a brief nod, paying no mind to the staff.

The nurses were busy setting up the equipment for Joshua. They were unenthusiastic and seemed as if they were forced against their will to do the job. Yammer shook his head.  
As the nurses cleared the room, Yammer caught a look at a sleeping Sho and Neku. He kept quiet and decided to focus his attention on Joshua again. "The service here..." he said with a hint of humour, keeping his voice down to not disturb the others.

Joshua felt the pressure leave him once the nurses cleared out. He allowed a smirk tug at his mouth, glancing up at Yammer again. "I know..." he chuckled very quietly.  
Apart from neglect here and there, the boy's lung had stopped hurting, making breathing and communication much easier to bear with. He still felt lighter in one side, but that will be a feeling he'll grow accustomed to. Since yesterday, Joshua decided not to talk to anyone but Yammer, and with Yammer alone. Anyone hearing the teen's voice in earshot will have stirred resentment to that individual.  
Which explained why Joshua felt nervous in talking to the two sleeping individuals, resting next to him in the room.

Yammer offered a smile. He took a look at the two sleeping. "Ironic... isn't it?" he asked rhetorically to Joshua, "Don't worry about it." he added after seeing a sort of discomfort on Josh's face.

Joshua sighed, "How long will I be here? When with the pump be removed?" he mumbled.

Yammer forced a small, sympathetic smile, "...Just get some rest. That's the only way you'll get out of this any quick--." He stopped dead in his words. A slight buzzing came from the pocket in his hoodie. Hesitant to react, Yammer reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone. _This is bad..._ He braced himself for whatever grim news about his fate as a Reaper may hold, and opened his phone to receive a short text.  
_'You are to report back for neglect of duty.'_  
Yammer put his phone away with a burdened sigh. "Neglect duty..." he told Joshua quietly. _Better than having my ass erased for being an accomplice..._

Now it was Joshua's turn to put on a smile. "Sorry I dragged you into this..." he giggled, "I'll be fine... but I'm not tired. I may not sleep for a while."

Yammer scratched his neck. "Nah... I've been skipping my post a few times anyway..." he grinned a little. "I'll come see you later." he added as he made his way for the door, opening and closing it as quietly as possible.

Joshua smiled weakly, before letting out a quiet sigh. He can't sleep, so the day might be a long one...

--

3pm approx, and Joshua continued to lie there, teaching himself to adjust to the missing weight in his chest. Nope, sitting here and doing nothing at all was hell, having everyone hating your guts is death.  
And sitting in the same room with those you were forced to kill is mental murder.  
Just then, Joshua opened his eyes to the sound of shuffling steps outside the room, accompanied by angry mumbles.

The door opened. A suspicious-looking woman entered the room with a pillow, paying no attention to the other patients. Neku's Aunt walked straight pass Joshua and Sho's bed, mumbling in an aggressive tone.

Joshua's violet eyes narrowed, eyeing the woman carefully, a hand on the nurse bell at the ready.  
While Sho and Neku were spending such a week in the UG, the living teen had encountered her before; it was Neku's Aunt, the very same one Josh sent packing by imprinting. With the aggressive attitude and pillow in hand, Josh had the right to suspicious.  
And just as said Aunt pulled up by Neku's bed, Joshua pushed the nurse button.

She approached Neku, standing by the bedside, looking down on him with resentment. "Like it never happened..." she mumbled to herself before taking the pillow and covering it firmly over Neku's face. No sign of struggle or distress from the teen. A cry for help was muffled by the pillow.

_Hang in there, Neku! Don't exhale! Don't panic; keep the air you have inside!_  
Joshua watched intently, his heart racing, somehow imprinting his thoughts to Neku without his mobile.  
Not a second too late and the nurse that was summoned by Joshua quickly rushed over and restrained the Aunt off from Neku, the pillow already knocked aside. The nurse yelled for help and a few more swarmed in, dragging the enraged woman away.

Breathing heavily, Neku's rude awakening left him shocked and paranoid. He sat up as the nurses attended to him. _What... What the hell was that?!_

The commotion was enough to wake Sho as well, glancing around. He caught the last glimpse of Neku's Aunt being dragged out of the room, screaming her insults. _What a zetta psychopath..._  
A faint memory drifted up from the depths. Sho closed his eyes, recalling something that shouldn't be there, a surreal dream, which felt more like a memory. _A... A promise? Oh, how zetta stupid of me... I promised Neku I'd adopt him..._

Joshua looked on, worried. He wanted to say something, but couldn't out of fear that the nurses would turn on him. And he wasn't sure if Neku and Sho would also respond sourly.

Neku rested back on the pillow, his heart racing. He looked over at Sho. "S-Sho...?" he called out when he noticed a bed beside Sho's. He was too shaken to say anything.

Sho noticed it too, the teen in question watching them nervously.  
He then turned to Neku, "What happened, exactly?"

"Your Aunt tried snuffing you for good, Neku..." came the bold reply from Joshua, eventually looking down at his bed sheets. The response from the nurses was immediate, and they left in a rush.

"J-Joshua?" Neku asked himself. How did he wind up in the same room as them? Neku was too worried to care at the moment  
_My Aunt just tried to kill me...!_

Sho frowned. There's no way he would let Neku live with someone horrid, especially while the Aunt that tried to murder him. He looked over at Neku again, "Are you alright?"  
He then turned to Joshua with a smile, "Thanks Josh... Without you, there's no telling what would have happened..."

Joshua blinked in surprise. _Did... did he just say thanks? No malice, no resentment...?_  
He went quiet for a while, "You don't... hate me?"

Neku took a deep breath, finally getting a grasp on the situation. "I'd be dead if you hadn't had been here..." he said quietly. _Dying isn't great either..._

"It's nothing..." Joshua concluded sadly, lying down again and gazing at the ceiling miserably.

Sho scratched his neck a bit. "Did I... make a promise I'd adopt you Neku?" he inquired.

Caught off guard, Neku's tone changed completely as his mind was taken off of the recent attack. "H-how did you remember that...?" he asked out of surprise.

"It felt... surreal... I don't know, it came out of the blue... must have been a dream. But now that I think about it," Sho paused, pondering a bit, "You really want me to adopt you? Especially now that said Aunt will have 'attempted murder' charged at her title, rendering her unstable."

Is this for real? Sho remembered...? "I-it's your call in the end..." Neku said, sounding a little down.

"May as well... otherwise the law may send you away somewhere, and until you're eighteen, will keep you there. That simply screams 'independence denied'. I enjoy having you around, Neku, and if you like the idea living with some zetta weird math teacher, say so." Sho smiled. The more he thought about it, the stronger the memory of the promise he made on Day 6 became.  
"Yeah... I do, but... that's all I remember. Everything else is... blank..."

Joshua looked up from his trance. He felt a bit left out, but that was expected with the state he's in...

Neku smiled weakly. His luck had turned right around, along with his hopeless view on life. "Better a math teacher then a psycho." he joked.

Sho watched Neku in return for a while, an elated glint in his eyes. "It's settled then. Moment I can bounce out of here, I'll ask the law."  
_On the other hand...?_  
It was then he stopped and thought, turning back to Joshua, who pretended to sleep. "Neku...? Is there room for 1 more?"

Neku took a while to take everything in. "I don't know... You think there's room?" he reversed the question. It would take adjusting too, but at this moment, Neku wouldn't mind whoever he lived with.

Sho remained silent, not sure how to answer himself.

Joshua looked over at the two from his bed. "I... wouldn't have anyone left to care for me..."

Neku sighed a little, "It's a big commitment... You're sure about this, Sho?" he asked, trying not to sound selfish, but realistic.

Sitting in silence pondering, the teacher eventually came up with a conclusion, "If I can handle a class, I'm zetta sure I can do a good job with you two." he responded boldly.

Joshua, bemused with this, continued to watch the pair chatter with each other. He was left speechless. _Is... is this a dream? I must be dreaming...! They... care?_

Neku smiled. He had a feeling that things would only get better from now on. And he didn't even mind if Joshua lived with him. The past was behind them, after all.

"Can I have a say in this?" Joshua spoke up, "Once I leave this place, I... don't think I'll ever speak again in public. You saw how the nurses reacted? I'm truly on my own here..." he added sadly.

Sho chuckled, treating Joshua's statement as a joke, "You may feel lonely, but you're never alone."

Neku nodded. "We're going to be like a family from now on, after all."

From that moment on, their time in the hospital ward went by quickly. They spent their time talking about even the most stupid of things. Yammer would often visit and throw some jokes around the place too. After all, their recovery was one of the two barriers holding them all from a hopeful future together.


	51. Last Day of School!

**Title:** Logical Requiem  
**Characters:** Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)  
**Rating:** M-Mild Violence  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.  
**Summary:** Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...  
**Notes:** Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)  
**Known Characters involved in this Chapter:** Sho, Neku, Joshua, Ayaka.

Last day of school. Last day of school.  
_Last Day Of School!_  
That would be the thought going on in both student and teachers' heads for the day.  
It was around late May when the early summer came around and began heating up the weather. Today was truly the last day for Yr10 students. The only thing they had to tackle now was the Math Exams, the last exam of the year.  
And the familiar math teacher, Sho Minamimoto, had other plans once he leaves school at the end of the day. Unfortunately, he had to stay behind longer to cross examine more math work. Not that he mind, but he wasn't sure how Neku and Joshua would cope on their own.  
_Nope, no, no, that won't do... they both have their extra key, I hope they do start packing for the holidays... instead of fighting over the remote... again._ Sho thought, eventually chuckling to himself during the cooled meeting.

Sitting towards the back on separated desks, Neku had his head down, working on the math exam. He tapped his pencil while trying to figure out a particular question. _Should have studied a little more..._  
He looked up at Joshua, who was busy working hard. He looked down at the paper again, staring at this one question. As time slipped by, he managed to fluke that one question, and just before the exam had finished. He groaned to himself and leaned back in his chair while waiting for his paper to be collected. _Math..._

Even Joshua beared with the heat and strain, even with the air conditioners working smoothly, his anxiety kept him on edge. Still, he did study hard, but not to the point that large holes in memory would form. And several times he offered Neku some help in studying, only to wind up laughing like fools over ice cream.  
Since leaving the hospital, Joshua went mute, never speaking a word whatsoever unless at home with Neku and Sho alone. He still would like to catch up with Yammer when he had the chance.  
It was relatively easy, having to keep full attention to Sho at home and enduring with the jokes, some funny, some... whatnot. He sighed a bit once the call for the math exam to come to a stop. Like Neku, Joshua failed to answer one or two questions overall. To avoid more trouble, he kept quiet.

As Neku's exam was collected, he shot up from his chair to leave, as the students before him, including Joshua had done. He tucked his chair under the desk and made his way for the door, meeting up with Josh outside of it. He took a long stretch and sighed with relief. "Glad that's finally over...!"

Joshua offered a friendly smile and a nod in response, carrying his pencil case and a sheet or two. Cheat sheets, after all, were allowed in the exam to some extent, but it was obvious that Josh didn't use them.  
The quiet teen gave a look that simply read, 'It's hot outside, race you home?'

Neku smirked, "No hard feelings when I beat you again!"  
He started to make a mad dash for the lockers, followed by Joshua. They weaved through the crowds of students and teachers while watching making sharp turns around the campus to the lockers.

In spite of having only one lung, Joshua was quite agile on his feet. And having to take his stuff out of his locker throughout the week in advance gave him a slight advantage. Quickly emptying it, and stuff it neatly in his bag, Joshua took off once he closed his locker door.  
The setback now was the immense heat.

Neku struggled to fit all of his equipment into his bag, but managed to stuff it in just before Joshua. The race for home under the heat began. Fortunately, Neku knew this district well enough to take some shortcuts, but the weight of his bag was seriously holding him down.

Not knowing if Neku had made it first or not, Joshua quickly made it for the stairs, seeing that his agility can outrun a slow moving elevator. The internal cooling in general restored his energy somewhat.

Neku chose to take the elevator. He'd fall over for sure with his equipment. He slammed the elevator button and was lucky to have one open right away. He was about to enter the elevator when he came face-to-face with Ayaka. He stopped in his tracks, as if he had forgotten what he was doing. She waved a little, and he waved back. She smiled as the door to the elevator closed again. Neku snapped out of it and growled, forced to risk taking the stairs.  
He ran down them, jumping and skipping as many steps as he could. Once on the ground floor, he caught a glimpse of Joshua ahead of him by quite a distance. He continued on, but cut through the alleyway at where the school ends.

The heat immediately took effect once Joshua left the campus. In spite of his agility, thanks to recently signing up for sports, and the light bag, he kept going with the strain, ducking under shelter as he went on.  
Traffic lights were an issue too, but with small roads, Joshua risked jaywalking. Fortunately, no one noticed.

Neku dodged dumpsters and obstacles of the sort. Once out of the alley way, he took a sharp turn onto the sidewalk, almost knocking a person over. Without apologizing, he made a dash across the small street and into another alley. The weight of his bag took its toll and made manoeuvring more difficult, but he pressed on. _One more short cut, then I'm on the home stretch!_

Joshua kept up a good pace. Not strong, but decent. Now in Dogenzaka, the teen picked up his pace, making a ditch-effort dash for Pork City.

Panting, Neku was on the home stretch. His apartment in Pork City was in sight, and Joshua was out-of-sight. He could only assume he was beating Josh, but to be on the safe side he made the effort to sprint a little faster.

Not really paying attention, Joshua bolted inside, the cool air refreshing him. Once again, he took the stairs.

Neku reached the entrance, slowing down a little to catch his breath. He chose to take the elevator again to avoid a painful climb with his school stuff. He took what little time in the elevator to catch his breath enough to make a mad dash to the entrance of the apartment with a key ready to get inside.

Joshua had his key ready, panting a bit and sweating. Without stopping, now that he heard the elevator move, he made it to the apartment door. _Finally, I win the race home for once!_  
Instead of going straight for the TV, he went to his room to sort his stuff for the last time. _Gee, Neku had his hands full..._ he mused to himself. With a smile and a shred of kindness, he decided to meet Neku outside the elevator.

Without looking forward, he knew he was almost there. The elevator door opened and he began his dash. As Joshua exited the apartment, Neku had run straight into him, sending both falling to the floor, confused and sore. He rubbed his head and looked up. "?!"  
_...This is embarrassing..._  
Indeed it was, for Joshua fell on top of Neku shortly after collision.

Joshua looked up, a quick scan of the hallway, before turning to Neku, irked. "If you're looking for first place, sorry; I've already taken the deadline." He dusted himself as he got back up, "Need help?"

Neku scratched his neck, looking up at Josh. "...It's fine." He struggled up with his bag and fixed his clothes, following a victorious-looking Joshua inside.

--

With everything done for the year (or just abandoning it all on the other teachers), Sho quickly shot up from his desk, uncomfortable from the heat, and gathered his things for the trek home. Down one hallway, he was stopped by a familiar female student.

"Hey, Mr. M!" Ayaka called out cheerfully.

"Oh?" Sho turned around with a smile, "Ayaka isn't it? How can I help you?"

She nodded, returning the smile, but a bit more awkwardly, "So... Are you doing anything for the holidays?" she asked inconspicuously.

Sho grinned again, wiping the sweat off briefly, "Neku, Joshua and I are heading for Hiroshima this holiday. They worked hard for the exams, and I think they earned it."

Ayaka nodded. "Hiroshima? That will be nice..." she said openly, still holding the teacher up.

Sho noticed the holdup, "I better get moving, or the boys would start fighting with the remote again. Say, you're good friends with Neku, would you like to come with?" he asked.

Ayaka smiled politely, "T-thanks, but I have to work this holiday..."  
She checked her watch, then looked back up at Sho. "Well, I better get going! See you Mr. M!" she said and left in a hurry.

Sho watched the girl take off, shrugging and turned to leave the campus.

--

"Damn it, Josh. Give me the remote!" Neku whined to Joshua who refused to hand over the remote, wearing a smug grin.

"Why? You hog it every night, and I don't have my say!" Joshua retorted boldly. Just because the teen needed a shower to ease off the sweat, doesn't mean that second-place gets the remote. And of course, the moment Joshua got out, got dressed and checked his bags again, he went back to the lounge, greeted with Neku casually watching TV.  
And what did boys do when they can't agree from the go? They fight.  
Joshua started simply by pouncing on the teen and snatching the remote. The playful fight had gone on since there.

Sho could feel the positive and negative vibes clashing as the boys attempt to snatch the remote, the moment he entered Pork City. It was more relaxed than usual, since studying isn't an issue, and that going to Hiroshima for the holidays were, but only a few days away.  
The teacher chuckled whole heartedly as he took the stairs up.

Joshua had Neku pinned down, but Neku held the remote as far away as he could. The lock on the door rustled. Neku dropped the remote. It clunked on the floor as he and Josh scrambled to sit into a more casual position on the couch, as if nothing had ever happened. Unfortunately, they were stuck with the news channel. Sho had entered the door with a smile.

Sho knew the two had been fighting again. He actually found it amusing that these things happen, which is a sign of healthy growing. Boys will be boys, after all.  
"How were your math exams?" he asked casually, with a tone that said 'relax, you're not in trouble, but I know what you've been up to'.

Neku glared a little at Joshua, but then looked to Sho and scratched his arm "Fine, I guess..."  
Joshua looked over and shrugged. "At least it's over and done with," he said out of relief. Neku nodded. At least they had something to agree with.

Sho grinned again, stealing a glance from the TV. _Ha! The news! I don't see either watch the channel at this time._  
He shrugged and passed the boys on the couch, slipping into his bedroom to start packing. "Now remember, we're going in a few days. If either of you want to take a friend along, then we'll spend the day wondering around Shibuya, alright?"

The moment Sho left the room, Neku and Josh were back too fighting. "Yeah, really smooth.'He won't suspect the news!'," Neku whined sarcastically, keeping his voice down.

"Well, it _has_ been the last day of school." Joshua retorted coolly, snatching the remote from Neku, "And besides, he's never lost his temper at us... yet. Now quit being a sore loser, and hand. It. Over!" he added, after having it snatched from him again.

"Loser? We're not done yet!" Neku said confidently and dived for the remote. "Give it up already!"

Joshua pulled the remote out of reach. "What are you trying to prove, soda-pop?" he joked with a giggle.

Neku growled. "I don't know about you, but I couldn't care less about the news!"

Pinned, Joshua snatched the remote again. "Why do you always want the remote? I don't like watching the news, but I certainly won't let you know what I watch!" he teased again, the struggle obvious in his voice.

The remote was almost in Neku's reach. Just a few more inches and he would have it. "Stop being such a jerk...!"

"Quit being... indirect...!" Joshua weakly retorted, "And answer the question...!"  
Eventually, his strength was quickly waning, not getting enough oxygen to continue. His resistance slackened as a result.

Taking this opportunity, Neku swiped the remote. Triumphant, he grinned and used Joshua as a cushion.

Joshua frowned, knowing he lost the fight, and simply lied there on the couch. He folded his arms, giving the 'You'll get yours' look at Neku, and even began complaining about watching something he wasn't interested in.

Victory was sweet. Although there wasn't much to watch, Neku wouldn't give up the remote for anything now.

"I still stole your victory for the run home, dear." Joshua retorted with a tease, "I may have done better than you on the math exams, too."

Checking the packed up stuff in his room, Sho smiled when he was satisfied. He went back to the lounge room only to find a smug Neku sitting on a pouting Joshua's chest, both watching TV. The silence was prevented from the sound of the TV, as well as the occasional complaints from the boys.  
Chuckling again, Sho got his megaphone off the side of the fridge and tuned it onto low volume. "Attention rude radians! Is there anyone who wants food at this hour?"

Neku shrugged. _Not that hungry... But might as well._ He switched off the TV and got off Josh. "Sure."

Joshua got up and followed Neku. "Man, all that running has left me starved," he added.

--

The rest of the day was spent relaxing from the stress of school and planning what to see in Hiroshima.  
As a new day began, the trip grew closer. The three had needed to explore Shibuya for those last-minute items. Their search led them by the famous statue of Hachiko, where a familiar face stood out amongst the crowd. Catching the corner of Neku's eye, Ayaka was leaning against the railing which surrounded the statue. Neku broke away from the group for a moment to meet up with her. Once noticed, he was greeted with a smile and a small wave.  
"Hi Neku," Ayaka greeted. Neku waved back casually. "I thought you were going to Hiroshima?" she asked.  
Neku scratched his neck. "Yeah, we're off in the next few days..." he replied. An awkward silence filled the air momentarily, both of them unsure how to fill the silence.  
He looked around, avoiding making eye contact. "S-so... Doing much..?" he asked. She smiled a little. "Not really..."  
The silence plagued them once again, until Neku spoke forward, somewhat unconfidently. "If you don't have much to do... Why not come to Hiroshima with us? T-that is, if you can put up with Joshua and a math teacher..."

Sho had already gone into Shibukyu Stationside to look around for more supplies they could bring along, leaving Joshua standing at a distance. He frowned some, folding his arms once he heard Neku talk about him as if he was a pest. _I'm not that much of a big deal, am I?_ Joshua imprinted into Neku's head.

"Uh, I really don't mind... A-are you sure you want me to come though? I mean, I'm not really doing anything..." Ayaka blurted out.  
A small sense of guilt came over Neku. _Should probably stop with the Joshua jokes..._ Then realising that Ayaka was willing to come, he adopted an up-beat tone, "It's no trouble..."

Joshua gazed at the crowd, but he heard every word spoken. He giggled quietly to himself, the sound swallowed by the average daily noise. _Good job, Neku._

Sho had just got out of the Stationside with four tickets. He smiled and went over to stand by Joshua. "I knew another digit would come for the ride, so I got an extra one." he said, nudging Joshua playfully.

Ayaka gave a friendly smile. Neku returned it with an awkward smile. "Great, so... We'll come get you...?"  
The conversation continued until they both came to an agreement. "See you then!" Ayaka smiled as Neku walked off.  
"Yeah, later." the teen replied. He met up with the others, who looked at Neku with intrigued interest. Neku scratched his neck and looked away. "W-what's that look for?"

"Oh," Sho started, tipping his cap, "What it takes to be young and foolish again... you're zetta lucky I snagged another ticket. Do you know where she lives?"

Joshua only giggled, then offered his friend an easygoing grin.

Neku nodded. "I've got that sorted." He looked back over at the pair. "Did we get everything...?" he asked, not because he was interested, but clearly changing the subject.

"Eh, we still have a few things left. Not much, but you can never tell, right?" Sho answered, ready to explore the rest of Shibuya.  
The three set off again. After a while, Sho turned to Neku again, "Out of curiosity, what do you think of life now? Do you feel independent? Normal, perhaps? Because I've seen great improvement since we recovered from the hospital."

Neku was taken a little off guard. He took a little time to think of a decent answer. He noticed the change in his life the moment Sho made that promise, but he hadn't put much thought into it.  
"I'm happy for once." Neku said confidently. If anything, his attitude towards life took the greatest turn, and for the better.

--

**~THE END...**

**Or is it?  
Nope! It's not! We have an Epilogue Chapter coming up, along with a special follow-up, secret even to my Co-writer! (Until she reads it! X3)**

**And I know I said 51, but this chapter packed more in it than I expected. So the new total will be 52!**

**After this, there will be a 'Logical Requiem' Christmas Special. A contest is being held on my dA Journal! Check it out! :U**


	52. Epilogue and Extras!

A few more days' time, and the trio, along with Ayaka were waiting at the station for the Shinkansen to arrive. It was amazing how far they had gone, Sho thought, remembering that last year had been distant, even alien or unknown. He thought he could not fit in, so he rejected the idea of mingling. He thought he could not improve lives for the better, and Neku proved him wrong. He thought he could not redeem himself, but now with a bit of background knowledge, he can find ways to be himself more than ever.  
Sitting on the bench with Neku, Joshua and Ayaka, their bags packed and ready to escape the city heat, Sho kept his golden eyes out for their ride, an elated smile on his face.

Neku stared blankly at the empty tracks, waiting for the Shinkansen to arrive. It was a relatively clear day. The haze from the city didn't seem to stop the blue sky to shine through. A warm breeze blew softly over the tracks. Neku couldn't help but to take this time to think about his life. It took a series of misfortunes to finally make him change his attitude and take some initiative in his own life. For the first time from what he could remember, he had a place in life, and a purpose in it. To keep living, and moving forward.

Joshua looked at Neku and Sho, also wearing a casual smile, not the smirk that showed signs of a smug facade. He felt different, freed at last since his liberation from their stay in the hospital ward. True, it came at the cost of his gift, and one lung, but what use do they make? The ability to see the UG pained him, even if thinking about it for a second gave way to a few seconds of discomfort.  
It took a while for Joshua to discover his new ability, considering that he chose not to utter a word in public, and communicating with Neku was a must; he could imprint his thoughts to Neku, Sho, Yammer and Mr. H. But only those four. Since his deadline in Udagawa, Joshua chose against having a new mobile phone, and would keep it that way for a while to come. All in all, he was very grateful to live another day ever since. And at least he wouldn't stand alone.

Sho checked his watch. "The ride to Hiroshima will arrive in 5m approx. If you need anything, now's the time to holler." he said.

It was safe to say that everyone eagerly awaited this trip. A break from the bustling Shibuyan surroundings to take in the historical wonders and landscape of Hiroshima. It was just what they needed. After spacing out a little, Neku snapped out of it with Sho's call. He couldn't think of anything stopping him from boarding the train, so he shook his head a little. The others declined the opportunity also. The sooner the train came, the sooner they would be there.  
The wait from that moment on wasn't long. A soft kind of humming gradually became louder from the distance. In a flash, the Shinkansen had come to a halt at the terminal. A gush of wind followed from the force of the train.

Joshua and Ayaka got up from their seat, taking their belongings onboard. Neku followed in suit, stopping at the train door, and turned around with a warm smile at Sho for a while before disappearing on board.  
Sho happily returned the smile at the teen, a hard working student, a valuable partner, an irreplaceable friend, and now, Neku Sakuraba with a very bright future.  
The teacher hesitated, slipping a hand in his pocket, taking out a white pin with a black skull printed in the centre. He didn't remember where he picked it up, but it did make a nice treasure to keep. After all, not everything is garbage. Slipping the pin back into his pocket, and grabbing what's left of the luggage, Sho stepped on board of the Shinkansen. The door closed behind him, and he turned to look out the door window. As the train began to move, he thought he caught a glimpse of an ethereal being; his face concealed in a white hood perched on top of 104.  
Sho watched for a while, intrigued by the being. He smirked and tipped Pi-Face's Cap before moving inside to take a seat with his friends in the train, as it pulled out from the station, and began to accelerate on its route to Hiroshima.  
_I'll be the Grim Heaper he never was. Next time you mess with us, you will fall,  
because, in the end, we may feel lonely, but we're _never_ truly alone._

--

**THE END**

--

**Next to Come:**** Logical Requiem Christmas Special!**

Sho has never celebrated Christmas before, he's only celebrated New Years until Neku and Joshua started living with him Post Game.  
That... and Neku had just volunteered to host a student...

(An OC will star as the Exchange Student. Right now, I'm holding a Contest on my dA Journal. If you wish to get involve, don't hesitate to send me a private message, or go veiw my file under '**Hanakurai-San**'to see my Journal. Entry closes on the 7th December!)

--

**Serenade Maestro**

End of Year Twelve! And what's the best way to celebrate liberation?  
Schoolies Week, of course!

There is a massive party being held down in the southern regions of Japan, and Neku Sakuraba is keen on going with a few friends!  
Yoshiya Kiryu? Not so much. He'd rather chill at home with Sho Minamimoto, considering he's still going mute.

But what happens when tragedy strikes out of the blue? News reports that not all ex-students have had a great time. A few have even disappeared!

Among them; Neku Sakuraba!

Upon heeding this update, Sho is quick to respond, and even risks drag Joshua along for the ride. The Grim Heaper doesn't want to lose his close friend again! However, another twist of fate awaits them at their destination...


End file.
